Prescriptions
by webbo
Summary: A.U. Everything is different in this Colorado Springs. It's about life, love, and all the doctors. Romance, family, maybe some angst too.
1. Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1 "A Well child Check-up"

"Stop pulling on that Emma!" Sam mumbled to her daughter, while holding a handful of little girl hair. She reached for the elastic clenched in her teeth and pulled the hair through into a pony tail to complete Sophie's pig tails. "Ok, you're done. Now please, girls, try not to destroy anything."

Sophie hopped down off the chair and went to investigate what Emma had been playing with. Finding the massive roll of thin paper on the end side of the examination table, Sophie's eyes widened in excitement only to be squelched by her mother's stern, "Don't even think about it." Sam sat down on the only chair in the room and let out a sigh.

Emma sat on the examination table playing with the doctor kit they had brought from home, but Sophie stood by her mother, "Mommy, why aren't you happy?" Sam slowly lifted her face towards her daughter. Wow. She really couldn't' get away with much these days. At 3 years old the twins could easily pick up on her emotions, her stress, and her mood. "I'm happy, Soph. I just get nervous in new situations and I want to make a good impression." She was trying to simplify the facts for her kids. The truth was she was beyond annoyed at the office staff. Trying to reign in her anger, she had already called them all sorts of incompetent synonyms in her head, but it still didn't diffuse the real issue.

Sam had been looking forward to meeting Dr. Ketter, a female pediatrician who came with high recommendations to her by several colleagues because of her experience with raising twins, something Sam always felt inadequate at. But after filling out all her new patient paperwork, twice because of the twins, she was informed by the redhead behind the desk that Dr. Ketter was no longer taking new patients but that one of the many other Drs. in the clinic was. The chipper redhead also told Sam that Dr. Ketter is often on call during the weekends and if the twins were ever to become really sick that Sam might be lucky enough to meet her then. That's when the morning had started to go downhill fast. Furious, Sam asked if the receptionist was insinuating it was good luck if her girls got "really sick" and the red head made the mistake of answering her. Pat, the Office Manager, who had overheard the exchange had luckily stepped into the situation and apologized for the mix-up with Dr. Ketter, but promised Sam that she would like all of the doctors in the practice. Sam had her doubts.

"I'm happy, baby. I promise" Sam said to Sophie, reaching and putting the child on her lap. _At least the nurse who had seen to the girls this morning was nice_, Sam thought. She had made a big deal about complimenting their dresses and talked to them instead of only at Sam, which Sam knew the girls appreciated immensely. She took their height, weights, temperature, and head measurement and once in the room asked them several questions, measuring their speech development. The nurse typed everything in her small laptop, then got up saying the Dr. would be in shortly. That was 10 minutes ago. Emma hopped down from the examination table and searched the room for something else to do. There were some children's books on the Doctor's bench and Emma went for them.

"Don't Emma!" Sam shouted and Emma jumped back. "Sorry Mommy, I just wanted that book!" Taking a deep breath Sam tried to calm down. "I know Emma, I'm sorry. We don't know who last touched those books, honey. This is a place where kids who are sick come to see the Dr. We aren't sick today, but most likely the last little girl or boy who read that book was sick. That's why Mommy had you each bring a toy to play with from home. That way we don't get sick from someone else." At their last pediatrician's office the girls always became ill 2 or 3 days after a well-child visit. _Damn germs. _Sophie hugged her doll tighter and Emma went back to her doctor's kit, annoyed.

Finally, there was a light tap on the door, and then it opened. The Dr. peeked in before completely entering the room. "Well hello," he took stock of everyone in the room before turning his attention to Sam. Extending his hand toward her he said in the most polite voice Sam had heard since moving to this town, "Hi, I'm Dr. O'Neill."


	2. Chapter 2 - The Gorgeous Doctor

Sam shook his hand and answered in a small voice, "Hi." The man was gorgeous. And Sam was stunned into silence. When they told her the girls would be seeing Dr. Jack O'Neill Sam didn't know what she was expecting him to look like, maybe old and overweight, maybe tall and lanky. But this man was neither. He was the right height with the right build and the right everything. By the time Sam came back to herself Emma was already chatting with the cute Dr. Thank God for Emma, the girl could talk your arm off on any given day.

"Well you just keep practicing on all your dolls and then you'll be an expert at giving check-ups with that awesome kit you've got there." Dr. O'Neill said to Emma, and Sophie had long abandoned Sam's lap to hop on the exam table next to her sister and listen to the Dr. too. He glanced in Sam's direction and she looked back at him with a genuine smile. He was obviously good with children. _Of course he is Sam, he's a pediatrician, _she chided herself.

"Ok, which one of you princesses wants to go first?" He asked the girls and they shot up excited arms, "Me!" they both said, beyond excited, and Sam laughed out loud. What an incredible turn of events.

Dr. O'Neill piped up, "Ok, ok, I know how to decide." He put his hand on his chin and pretended to think. "Now if I had to guess, I'd say that you were born first," he said pointing at Emma. The girls just stared back at him clearly clueless, and Dr. O'Neill looked at Sam who nodded. "They don't know. But yes, Emma was born first," Sam confirmed.

"Aha!" said Dr. O'Neill triumphantly. "That means that it's only fair if we let your sister go first, since she was born second." This elicited a frown from Emma but a huge smile from Sophie. He started on the exam and Sam watched him closely, listening to her heart, checking ears, mouth, throat, etc. He looked at Sam after a minute and said, "The first twin to be born is usually in charge, more assertive, talkative, that kind of stuff. It was just a lucky guess." He said nonchalantly, while thumping what looked like a tiny hammer on Sophie's knees. Oh, that comment peaked Sam's interest immediately.

"No, you're right. Absolutely right, actually; Emma is definitely the mother of the two." Then Sam added, "Do you know a lot about twins?"

Dr. O'Neill asked Sophie to lie down and explained to her that he was going to lift her top and poke at her belly. "Well I see a lot of twins here at the practice and I've picked up on a lot. I know you were interested in seeing Dr. Ketter; she is raising her twin grandsons and probably knows more about the daily life with twins. Sorry you got stuck with me, but if you ever need to know something I don't already know, I'd be happy to ask her opinion on your behalf." He answered her so calmly, so comfortably, and all the while examining Sophie with such precision, that Sam replied, "No, of course not. I'm sure the girls will be happy being stuck with you" Sam said, making air quotes with her hands on the word "stuck." _And not just them._

He examined each of the girls, pausing in between to type his notes and wash his hands. Then he produced two purple suckers from a mysterious pocket and the girls were overjoyed. Dr. O'Neill had saved the day. "Now you girls sit here and practice with your kit while I talk to your Mom for just a minute, then you can be on your way." He said to them and then sat on his stool and rolled it closer to where Sam was sitting.

"Ok Mrs. Hanson. The girls look great from what I can tell. Their ears are clear, strong little hearts and lungs. Now I don't have their medical history yet to know how they are doing on their growth yet. What we'll do is get all their records transferred over from their previous physician and then I'll have a better idea of how that's going the next time you come in. From their stats today I can tell you that they look like the average healthy three year old. " He paused and let her respond.

"That's great, thank you," Sam said. "Sophie isn't a great eater. Well, neither of them really likes to eat vegetables or anything remotely healthy, but I still try. Emma seems to have a better appetite, always has, but Sophia eats like a bird. Sometimes I don't know what to do about it."

He nodded and gave her sound advice on the nutrition that the twins should be following. Sam was surprised by some of his clever ideas of how to incorporate what he called "reject vegetables" into their diet, like spinach, beets, and cauliflower. Apparently they were super brain foods that aided in the cognitive and neurological development. Sam wrote some things down on the tiny notebook she carried in her purse. She felt dumb in these matters of parenting. Shouldn't she know to just mash up some vegetables and hide them in the girls' spaghetti? _I guess that must come from something my mom never got to teach me, _Sam thought, sadly.

When Sam was done asking questions he got back up and addressed the girls, "Now I hope to not see you anytime soon, but if you do get sick, just tell Mom to bring you in, ok?" The girls nodded emphatically, their suckers still stuck in their mouths.

"Pleasure to meet you all," he said, then extended his hand again to Sam, "Mrs. Hanson, the nurse will be in shortly with their flu mists."

Sam shook his hand not wanting to correct him. "It was nice meeting you too." She said, because technically she still was Mrs. Hanson. _I guess I always will be, _she thought.

TBC

**Author's Note: Thanks for reading and feel free to review! The next update will be out in a few days. **


	3. Chapter 3 - Lonely at Home

Jack walked through the front door and kicked it closed with his foot, tossing his keys on the entryway table. His dog was there ready to greet him, and Jack put his bag of take-out on the side table by the keys and knelt down by the dog, "Hey Thor," he petted him, "keep all the neighborhood cats in check, did ya?" Thor wagged his tail and then went to sniff at the food.

"That Chinese is for me buddy."

Grabbing the bag Jack placed it in the kitchen and then moved through the house towards his room to change. He sat on his bed and began to unlace his shoes. Black, shiny shoes. He really needed to find something more comfortable to wear all day while on his feet. The slacks and button down shirts he wore matched his profession, but sometimes made him feel stiff and old. He often ended up with rolled up sleeves halfway through the day, but he figured it was hidden beneath his white Dr.'s coat anyway.

He changed into baggy jeans and a long-sleeved t-shirt, and went about his routine. Feeding Thor, he then sat on the couch with his take-out and a beer, and channel surfed for the usual Hockey or Simpsons reruns. Tonight he could find neither on T.V., and settled for an episode of Mythbusters he had recorded; it was the MacGyver special after all. He propped his feet up on the coffee table and dug into his beef broccoli.

After about 30 minutes, Jack realized he was watching a commercial. The whole reason for the new cable box was for him to be able to record shows and fast forward through them when he got home. He decided to turn the show off instead.

Jack had been deep in thought, watching but somewhere else. He saw a lot of kids today. Only a few had any serious ailments, but it was still a long day. He leaned over to the side table and picked up the lone picture frame there, bringing it towards him. Charlie looked so young, just like most of his patients. Not a minute went by that Jack didn't miss him, or that Jack didn't think of him.

The image of the two little girls from today popped in his head. He put Charlie's picture back down and plopped his head back onto the couch cushion. He found Thor's head on his lap and started petting him. They were so cute, those twins. Light brown hair in pig tails, beautiful blue eyes, their mother's eyes. Jack thought back to the Mother. She was beautiful. Blond, short hair, tall, and thin._ Gorgeous_, Jack thought. _Her husband probably thinks so too, Jack. _His conscious shot back. Jack sighed.

That was another problem. Besides all the adorable kids Jack saw all day, he saw all the mothers too. A lot of the women who came in looked exhausted, sounded worse, and nagged on their children. But some looked good, too good. And a lot of the single mothers threw themselves at Jack unashamedly. It was really hard to keep his own when a hot woman was offering so blatantly. But Jack knew the reality of the single women in his office, too. These mothers weren't just looking for a fling, a quick romance, a relationship for fun and companionship. They had needs beyond themselves, reflected in the children the mothers were bringing in. They wanted a husband; a replacement for the children's father; a well-off doctor to set them and their kids up in the aftermath of a failed marriage, or worse, widowhood. Jack didn't think he could be that man. After Sarah and Charlie, Jack was sure he was done with the family aspect of life. But a fling? A nice romance after the long workweek? Someone to have dinner with, to sit on the couch next to, to wake up with? Jack felt bad for thinking these things, for wanting someone like that, but he was only human. He couldn't pretend to be someone else.

And later, after Jack followed his nightly routine, he lay in bed awake, thinking of those two little girls, and of their blond mother with blue eyes.

**A/N: I don't own Mythbusters, etc. There actually is a MacGyver Special. Its Season 6, Episode 6, if you're interested.**


	4. Two kids and a cold bed

**Author's Note: Thank you for reading and for those who have reviewed. This is only my second full story, so excuse any mistakes. I'm trying to update at least once a week. Enjoy.**

Sam scrubbed the last pan in the sink, getting all the food bits off before placing it in the dishwasher and closing the appliance. Washing her hands she yelled out, "Girls, five more minutes on that show and then its bath time!" Not hearing a reply, Sam shut the water off and strode into the living room drying her hands on a dish towel. "Did anyone hear me?" Still, she got no response. The tiny eyes were glued on the screen, barely blinking. Sam reached for the remote on the couch and pressed pause. Immediately the eyes went to her. "Mommy!" The girls protested.

"Did anyone hear what I said? We have to go take a bath in 5 minutes. Do you understand?" Sam asked.

Emma replied first, "No Mommy, we have to finish Geowge." Sam looked at the screen. The Curious George episode had 8 more minutes on it, so she caved.

"Okay. Once this show ends then we are taking a bath. Understood?"

"Yes, Mommy," she heard them both yell as she walked out of the room.

Sam walked to her bedroom and sat on her bed. Leaning down she took off her sneakers. She looked down at her outfit. Jeans and a pale pink sweater with sneakers. Why had she worn that today knowing she was going to meet the new pediatrician? _Maybe because you thought the pediatrician was going to be an experienced grandmother, not a gorgeous man. _What did it matter anyway? It's not like the gorgeous doctor was available. He looked a bit older than her, there was definitely some gray in his hair, but it was mostly brown. And his eyes were dark brown, like chestnuts. What is it that people called that color? _Chocolate brown, how cliché_. Sam thought about the way he treated the girls, a smile forming on her face.

Hearing a girly screech down the hall, Sam pushed herself off the bed and went to bathe the girls.

An hour later and the girls were both in bed. "Goodnight Soph, I hope you sleep well." Sam tucked Sophie in with her Minnie and kissed her cheek. "Mommy, can we go see Dr. Neill again?"

"Did you like Dr. O'Neill? He was pretty fun, wasn't he?" Sam asked.

"Yeah and he gave us suckers!" Emma answered from across the room. "Yeah, he gave us suckers, Mommy!" Sophie repeated.

"I'm glad you liked him. The next time we have a checkup or we get sick we can go see him again. Deal?"

"Yeah!" Emma shouted "And he can give us more suckers!"

"Good night you two, sweet dreams." Sam said moving out of the room.

She walked to her room and shed her clothing, dumping it all into the hamper. Full. _I have to do laundry tomorrow_. Stepping into the bathroom she turned the shower on and waited for the water to get hot. She ran her fingers through her messy, oily hair and frowned. Looking at herself in the mirror, she almost couldn't recognize the woman there. Her face was pale, made worse by the huge dark circles under her eyes. She looked further down, her breasts full but hanging a bit lower than they used to, her abdomen covered in stretch marks, and lower, the scar from her cesarean. She blew out a long breath and puffed out her cheeks. _This is me._

She walked into the shower letting the hot water flow over her for longer than she usually did. The hot water did little to dispel the icy chill that had become her life. She thought back on how she had treated the receptionist at the doctor's office. _I hope I'm not becoming a disgruntled woman with a cold heart. _ There were other less appropriate words she could use to describe herself lately.

Warmed from the shower and in her pajamas, Sam walked back into the girls' room. They were both asleep, Emma snoring softly. She covered Sophie back up and gave her another kiss, and turned the lamp off. Walking into the kitchen Sam poured herself a glass of wine, picked up the pile of papers on the counter and walked toward the couch. Turning the TV on, she scrolled through her list of recorded materials, landing on the latest Mythbusters. "MacGyver Special," it said. _Huh, Mark used to watch that show. _She pressed play and started grading her papers with a red marker.

Later, in bed, when Sam felt cold and alone, she thought about the dark-haired doctor again, his chocolate brown eyes. He probably had a wife back at home who really appreciated his features. _I bet he has a daughter too. Or maybe a son. _


	5. Toning Up

Jack pedaled faster. "_T" is gonna kill me if I don't get at least another cycle in before he gets back, _Jack thought, speeding up even more. Sweat was dripping from his brow and his legs were starting to cramp. As if knowing his limits, the bike monitor beeped signaling another completed cycle and Jack relaxed, letting his legs slow to a leisurely stroll on the bike. He wiped his sweaty forehead with his shoulder, staining the shirt wet, and looked around the crowded gym. It was pretty full this late in the day. Jack preferred getting up early, coming to the gym before most people were out of the house. But he had noticed the extra weight lately, especially around his middle, and T had offered to give him a couple of extra sessions in the afternoons. _ Must be all that beer._ The constant take-out probably didn't help either, but Jack hated cooking elaborate meals.

His inward thoughts were interrupted when he spotted a head of golden hair bouncing around in the workout room across from the elliptical machines. The bikes were in the back of the room, near the walls, so Jack had a pretty good view of all the machines on the floor and of the room where classes were held. Inside, a large group of women were vigorously moving about, each hopping on and off their own personal step, arms and legs moving everywhere. It was really more than any male should be able to handle. Hips and thighs and backs beings stretched. And there was bending. Lots and lots of bending. Which is why Jack preferred it when the room was empty. That way he could actually relax and focus on working out. Instead here he sat, the pedals almost immobile, eyes fixed on the blond head by the clear glass wall. _It's her._

She was definitely working out. Stepping up over her stool-like contraption she crossed to the other side, then quickly back over, followed by a series of squats and lunges that had Jack reeling. All her movements were measured and graceful. She knew the steps, unlike some of the other women in the back that looked lost and only got a couple of parts of the routine right. _ She probably comes to this class all the time._ She was wearing black yoga pants and a white sleeveless workout top and hot pink sneakers. Her green sports bra straps were peeking out on either side of her shoulder blades, which were exposed by the shirt, and Jack was entranced. She was fit and toned and beautiful. The sweat glistened on her skin and Jack was nearly drooling.

"See something you like?" Startled, Jack looked over to see Teal'c smirking at him. "You know there are plenty of single women in there that would love nothing more than to.."

"Hey T, do you know that one?" Jack interrupted what he could only guess was going to be a lewd comment and gestured with his head, "the blond in the back."

Teal'c looked over and a single eyebrow shot up appreciatively. "Yeah, she's a regular, but I don't know her name." He looked back over at Jack and then his facial expression changed. "She doesn't have a trainer but she comes in almost methodically and does that class, group blast, but sometimes she runs herself silly on the treadmill. Sometimes I wonder if she's actually trying to run from something; she's intense."

Jack nodded and looked back in at the feminine display of skin. He felt a little like a creep for looking, but she was so damn gorgeous. They had moved on from all the jumping and were on the floor doing crunches, and Jack could see her face clearly now. _Definitely her._

Teal'c interrupted his thoughts yet again. "Ah, hate to break it to you though, but I think that one's taken." _Ah, of course she is._

Jack asked, "Why do you say that? Does her husband come in with her?" Jack looked around the gym as if trying to spot who the blue eyed mother could be attached to.

"No. I've never seen her come in with a dude. But she doesn't come alone." Teal'c prefaced.

"Twin girls," Jack supplied for him.

Teal'c nodded, "So you saw her come in. She always has them. Drops them off at the kid area and as soon as the class is over she grabs 'em and leaves." Teal'c checked Jack's stats on the bike monitor and added, "Unless she feels up to running like crazy on the machine first."

Two muscled men walked by and acknowledged Teal'c, "Hey Murray, how's it going." Teal'c nodded and the guys kept moving towards the locker room.

"She came into the office; the girls are my newest patients. I thought she had just moved to town." He frowned and then added, "she been coming here as long as me?"

Teal'c made a face trying to think. "Nah, maybe a couple of months. I guess she started in the summer? Maybe before that? I don't remember." He waited a minute then added, "You look smitten."

Jack hopped off the bike, annoyed. "Come on T, what's next?"

"Weights" Teal'c supplied, and Jack grimaced.


	6. Running

Sam had only been running for ten minutes but she could feel her energy plummet. After the week she had, choosing to run after her step class was probably not a good idea. She hit the dials on the machine, brining it down to a slow jog and took a swig of her water bottle. It did little to revive her tired body. She turned her head to look at the giant clock on the wall of the gym, 5:47pm. _The girls are probably getting hungry._

She turned the dial down further and started to cool down. She scanned the crowded gym and people-watched. There was an elderly couple a few machines down from hers, walking slowly side by side. _That's nice._ She looked in front of her at the floor of weight machines. Two girls wearing practically nothing were using the thigh toner and making a show of laughing, trying to get the attention of the muscled men around them. Right in the middle of the floor she spotted a well-built, brown-haired man pushing forward on some bar, lifting the load of weights behind his seat. Releasing the bar slowly and exhaling, the weights came back down, and Sam noticed one of the gym's trainers was with him, talking to him animatedly.

It was that African-American-wall-of-muscle trainer. He was huge and stoic, though she had seen him plenty of times laughing and chatting with his clients. Her gaze went back to the man lifting weights. It had been a long time since Sam had let herself appreciate the features of a man. This man was tall and handsome, and by the looks of it this wasn't the first time he was weight-training. His upper body was toned and firm and even though she was supposed to be cooling down, the room kept getting warmer._ Well, at least I know I still have a pulse. _ Giving up on the cool down, she stopped the machine and focused on the man's face. She sucked in a breath. _It's him._

She allowed herself the luxury of watching him for a few more minutes, mesmerized as the weights went up and back down, hidden behind the treadmill and the sea of sweaty people. He looked so different from the Doctor she had met at the office, wearing slacks and shiny shoes. He had looked good in his white lab coat, but here she caught a glimpse of a more relaxed man; his clingy t-shirt was sweat stained and his feet tapped along with the music playing around in the gym. Tearing her eyes off of him, she stared back up at the clock and sighed, 5:58pm. _Time to go._

Quietly getting off the treadmill, Sam made her way to the exit, careful to avoid the weight machines, and went to pick up the girls from the gym kid area, wondering what to make for dinner.


	7. A Sick Child Visit

"Mommy I need a tissue for my sneeze." Sophie said pitifully, sitting on the examination table. Sam looked over at her and reached for the tissue box on the counter in the room. "You need a tissue for your snot, honey, not your sneeze." Sam corrected her, helping her with her nose. On the chair in the corner of the room sat Emma, watching a video on Sam's cell phone. Sam came over and touched her forehead. "You ok, Em?"

"Yuhum" Emma replied, "When is Dr. Neill going to check us?"

"I'm sure he'll be in here as soon as he can, sweetheart." And as she said it Emma coughed violently and dropped Sam's phone. The cover flew off and landed under the examination table, while the phone skidded to a stop against the wall. "Sorry Mommy." Emma looked horrified, sure she was going to get in trouble. Sam took a deep breath and let it back out. She was exhausted. One sick child was enough to tire out any parent, two was entirely overwhelming. It was in times like these that Sam mourned being a single parent. A partner would help with the coughing in the middle of the night, would clean throw up with her, give warm baths to bring down fevers, maybe let her sleep for a few hours in between the constant ups and downs.

"It's OK Emma, I'm not mad at you." Across the room Sophie pointed out, "Mommy, it was an accident."

"It's alright girls, don't worry. It can be put back together." Sam said kneeling down on the floor, "if I can just find it." She crawled halfway under the examination table and leaned her right arm forward. The tips of her fingers touched the lost cover. "I got it." But as she said it she heard the light tap on the door and heard it opening. _Oh perfect, _she thought.

sssssssss

Jack came into the office to a clear shot of Mrs. Hanson's rear. He stopped abruptly. What was she doing? "Hum, hello ladies."

At his voice, Sam jerked up and bumped her head on the bottom of the examination table, making a loud clanging sound. He heard a quiet "Ow" and then she quickly righted herself, coming to her feet with what looked like a cell phone in her hands.

"Doctor, hi" Sam said trying to hide her embarrassment.

"Everything ok?" He smiled, "with your um," he pointed to the phone in her hand.

Sam looked awkwardly to the phone cover in her hands. Emma spoke up pointing to the phone on the floor near the wall, "I dropped Mommy's phone and it broke."

Jack looked at the spot Emma pointed to and went to retrieve the phone. "Nah it looks ok to me!"

Emma hopped down from the chair and explained to him, "But the back fell off, see." She took the red phone cover from Sam's hand. Feeling like the room had gotten smaller; Sam went to sit on the chair Emma had just vacated.

"Well, it really just needs a doctor." Jack played with them. "Here, let me see it." From the table, Sophie giggled while Jack quickly put the cover back on the phone with a loud click. "See, good as new!"

Emma and Sophie smiled and Jack turned to hand the phone back to Sam. She smiled too, and when she took the phone, her fingers touched his. "Thank you."

Clapping his hands together, Jack turned towards the girls. "Now, what's going on with my new patients?"

"Fevers, runny nose, cough, the works." Sam listed off. "Oh, and let's not forget my personal favorite, vomiting and diarrhea."

Jack gave her a half smile and typed on his laptop while sitting on the doctor's stool. "They both have all the symptoms? Or is one worse than the other?"

Sam thought for a minute. "Emma was first, starting with the runny nose and cough, but Sophie became symptomatic 24 hours later and has caught up with Emma on just about everything. Emma's fevers have been a bit higher though."

"How high was the highest fever?" Jack asked.

"103.4" Sam answered "I give them Tylenol and sometimes a warm bath if the fever doesn't go down with just the meds."

"That's very good." Jack nodded, still typing. "Ok, do you remember when that high fever was?"

"Hum. Yes, around 3:30 in the morning today. All other fevers have been between 101 and 102." Sam answered.

"Is the mucus clear or colored?" Jack asked scrunching up his face towards the girls. They both laughed.

Sam couldn't help but smile too. "Mostly clear. It's been yellow a couple of times."

Jack typed some more then got up. "Let's start with Emma since she got sick first." Jack said, patting the examination table. He had no idea which child was which. They looked very alike. One of the girls made their way to the table, while the other hopped off, so he had his answer.

Jack examined Emma. He throat was very red and raw and her skin clammy. "How has her appetite been, Mrs. Hanson?"

Caught off guard again by her married honorific, Sam stuttered through the answer, "She, um." She cleared her throat, "Not good. Um, she'll drink apple juice, but hasn't been interested in any foods."

Jack nodded, "Yeah, that's what I thought. Let me put in an order for a throat swab real quick and then I'll examine Sophie." Sam expected him to leave the room but he just clicked a few buttons on his laptop and then called Sophie over to the table.

"What will the swab test for?" Sam asked

"Strep." Jack said and Sam groaned. "It's been going around. Highly contagious. Do they go to preschool anywhere?"

"Yes. Tuesdays and Thursdays for a few hours." Sam informed him.

"That's good. There's nothing you can do about the germ-spreading at schools. Just always encourage the girls to wash their hands really well." He said, and a knock on the door announced a nurse coming in.

"Doctor," she said, "You needed a strep test?" The nurse noticed both girls and then added, "Oh, do you need two? I only brought one swab."

"No, Nancy. Just one." Then he turned to Emma. "Ok Emma, sit up here and Nurse Nancy will take a little peek inside your mouth, ok?"

Emma complied and Sam asked, "So Sophie's throat looks ok?"

The nurse finished and left saying she'd have the result in a minute.

Jack spoke up while listening to Sophie's lungs, "No, her throat looks just as bad as her sister's, but there is no need to run two tests. I can see that their symptoms are identical. If Emma's results come back positive I'll treat them both."

Sam nodded, satisfied and Jack continued, "Sophie's ears are slightly infected. Not enough to worry about yet but I'm afraid they could get worse, especially with all her other drainage issues, so…"

There was another knock and the nurse popped her head through the crack. "The test was positive for streptococcus Dr. O'Neill."

"Thanks Nancy." He said, and she left. "Ok, so we'll treat them both with some antibiotics. I want you to give them lots of fluids. Don't worry about food just yet, just try to keep them hydrated. They'll tell you when they're ready to eat." He typed in his laptop, "Oh, and make sure to get them new toothbrushes in a few days or they can re-infect themselves after getting better. They can go back to school 48 hours after they start their meds."

He got up and looked over at the girl's mother. She was jotting things down in that tiny notebook she had from the previous visit, hunched over on the examination table. She looked tired; probably had been dealing with this illness for a few days already and he knew it was nowhere near over. She looked up as if just noticing he had stopped talking. "Any other questions?" He asked.

Sam hesitated, "Um, I can't think of anything else. Thank you so much Dr. O'Neill. I had no idea they could have something like this."

"It's normal. Kids just get sick." He turned to the girls, who were now both sitting together on the exam table.

"Girls, I need to you drink lots of juice and water and try to get better, Ok?" They both nodded and then he added without thinking, "And remember that you guys are sick with something that can get other people sick too, so no kissing on Mommy or Daddy for a few days, Ok?"

And then something happened Jack couldn't explain. It's like the air in the room shifted. Realizing the chill, and thinking about what he had said, Jack looked from the girls, who sat frozen in their seats, to their mother. She had closed her eyes and her mouth was pressed into a thin line. And then he heard the little voice of a three year old saying, "My Daddy is dead."

sssssss

Sam couldn't get out of there fast enough. She was getting used to situations like this, where Jonas' death was mentioned, but it was still hard hearing it from her tiny daughter's lips and watching the expressions on their little faces. It wasn't Emma's fault, Sam knew. Children this age just blurted out whatever it was they were thinking, and Emma and Sophie knew their father was dead. Sam had never pretended with them, saying that Daddy had "gone on a trip", or "moved far away," or "gone to live with the angels." Sam couldn't even stomach the last thought. Sam didn't wish evil upon the dead, but she couldn't imagine Jonas up in heaven. That's where her mother was, and Jonas didn't belong with her mother.

Sam walked through to the lobby of the Doctor's office determined, one child clutched in each hand. She was almost to the exit. She kept picturing Dr. O'Neill's face at Emma's revelation. He had felt awful for saying what he did, imagining how the girls couldn't kiss their father like he had suggested they might. He had immediately apologized, red with embarrassment, his hands clutching the small laptop. With all her stammering about afterwards he probably thought she was some bereaved widow ready to fall apart at the mention of her dead husband. _Oh, whatever Sam_, she thought. She was sure he would forget all about the awkward moments by the time the girls had to come in again. _He's probably already forgotten it._

She was almost clear of the lobby when she heard behind her, "Miss Hanson!" Sam turned and saw Nurse Nancy jogging toward her, the door that led to all the examination rooms wide open. "Dr. O'Neill said you forgot your prescription," she said, her arm extended, a small white paper folded in half in her hands.

Sam took the prescription and thanked her, leaving with the girls. She strapped the girls into their car seats and threw herself into the driver's seat. Sighing loudly she closed her eyes and allowed herself to breathe deeply. _Of course this had to happen today. _ She took another deep breath. _Of course it had to happen when I'm this sleep deprived and the girls sick. _Another loud exhale. Anytime people asked about their father in public it sparked a conversation later at home. With Jonas dead for over 2 years, the girls had no recollection of him at all and this sort of thing just sparked their interest and led to more and more questions. Deep breath.

She looked down at the folded paper still clutched in her hand. She knew the prescriptions would be automatically sent to the pharmacy; that's how it was done these days. Slowly unfolding the prescription card, Sam read the note written in a doctor's scrawl:

_I'm so sorry. Please forgive my insensitive remark._

_Please let me know if there is ever anything I can do._

_Jack O'Neill_

_755.6559_

Sam read the note twice. Looking up at the printed information on the prescription card, she noticed the number he wrote down didn't match the clinic's office number. _His personal number._

Putting the note in her purse, she turned on the ignition and drove home.


	8. Lunch Break

"And don't forget that your Schrödinger Theory papers are due on Monday. If it's less than 15 pages don't bother turning it in." Sam said to the group of worn down students. Although the school term had only just begun, everyone was feeling the urge to play around in the fall weather, instead of doing other mandatory things, like writing physics term papers. "That's it for today, thank you."

And with that, the room emptied quickly. Sam turned and started erasing the blackboard behind her and the room started slowly filling back up again. More tired students bracing themselves for yet another class today. _Thank God I don't have to teach this bunch._ Grabbing her materials she was almost run over by Professor McKay entering the room. She hated that his advanced Elementary Particles course met right after her Quantum Mechanics.

"Rodney, always a pleasure," Sam said sarcastically while sliding away through the door.

Looking up for the first time and noticing who it was he had bumped into, McKay answered, "Really? Cause I can take you out to lunch, you know." He said loudly looking out the door, but Sam was already far down the hall, and just waved her hand without turning around. _Ass._

She made her way to her office and closed the door. Dropping her materials on her desk she moved her mouse and unlocked her computer. A few new emails popped up and she scrolled through them. A new email from Janet asking if they could reschedule this afternoon's session. Feeling morose from her previous class, Sam typed up a quick email saying they could just skip this week and she'd be fine.

Her door flew open and she smiled. "Hey Daniel"

"Hey," he said, looking up from his book and fixing his glasses on his nose. "I'm not early am I?"

"No but I am starving. Can we just eat around here?" She asked.

"Sure, I haven't had my fill of bad cafeteria food this week yet." He said with a smile.

They made their way to the main dining hall. It was more populated with students but Sam thought the food here was pretty decent. "And then the kid raises his hand in the middle of my explanation and wants to know if I thought that the aliens who built the pyramids were green or blue and the whole class laughed."

Sam scrunched her face, "Sorry Daniel. That sounds pretty awful."

"Yeah," He sighed, "I just don't know that actually publishing this book will be a good idea." Sam pushed her plate out of the way and reached for her tall glass of blue jello. "I mean, what if the University fires me or something?"

"They can't fire you for writing a book. Besides, you've been working so hard on it. You have to at least finish it." She said, taking another bite.

"Yeah, I guess." Daniel said, pushing his own plate out of the way. "I just hope someone actually reads it one day."

"I'll read it!" Sam said with a huge smile. "Besides, I've already read like half your manuscript. I think it's good." She said with sincerity. He didn't need to know she thought his theory on the pyramids was a bit, well, sketchy.

"So I booked a flight for me and the girls to California for Christmas. Mark even said he'd pay for the flight." She chatted, "Though I suspect he just wants to check up on us and make sure I'm not depressed or feeding the girls all fast food or something."

"Oh good!" Daniel chimed in. "I wondered about your plans for December. I actually heard back yesterday from the Langford Grant and guess what?"

"You got it? No way!" Sam asked excited.

"Yep. Two weeks in a dig in Giza and maybe a week in Cairo." He said, beaming. "Apparently there are a lot of artifacts emerging with strange ancient Egyptian dialects."

"And you are the expert." Sam stated proudly. "I'm so glad, Daniel. Congratulations."

"Thanks, Sam. If I could just make this whole semester go faster." He said.

"Seriously, if only we could, I don't know," she said, thinking, "distort time."

Daniel looked at her oddly and changed the subject. They finished their lunch hour, laughing at each other's stories about students and classes and Sam made her way back to her office. Feeling more light-hearted than she had all week, Sam opened her email server back up and typed another email to Janet.

_'Since you cancelled on me, how 'bout you come over tonight after the kids' bedtime? Girls' night in? I'll have the wine, you bring the ice cream?'_

She set about prepping Thursday's classes and it wasn't long before her computer dinged. Opening Janet's reply, she read, '_You got it.'_

**_AN: Although this chapter mentions the Giza dig, the Stargate will not play a role in this little AU. Sorry. Well, at least I don't think it will..._**


	9. A Nudge

**Author's Note: For those who have reviewed but are not FF members, thank you. I cannot personally answer your review but know that it is much appreciated. I wish the chapters were longer too, but alas this is only my hobby. Until it becomes my day job, 800 word chapters will have to suffice. Many thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy the story. Much more to come. webbo**

"I'm telling you, Mary Steenburgen, hands down." Jack said taking a huge bite of his overstuffed sandwich.

"Uma Thurman is much more likely to win O'Neill," Teal'c said, opening his massive sandwich and admiring it before attacking it. They were at one of those places where you wrote down your sandwich choices on a paper bag and the bag went through the sandwich-making line and came out perfect on the other side, sandwich inside.

They ate in silence for a few minutes, Teal'c concentrating on his choice of Italian meats and Jack watching the door as people came in and out. Jack put his sandwich down and asked, "Hey have you seen that blond woman at the gym lately?"

Teal'c looked up at him, "What, the tall one with the twins?" Jack nodded, chewing and Teal'c added, "Yeah, she still comes in. Does her class, runs her huge sprints." He took a swig of his water bottle. "Why?"

"Just wondering." Jack paused, considering what to say. But this was Teal'c, if he couldn't bare all to his best friend, then what was the point? He pushed through, "Something happened, um, at the office, a few weeks ago now." He played with the now torn paper bag where his sandwich lay.

Teal'c just looked at Jack, giving him permission to continue, the unspoken acknowledgement that they were going into deeper territory.

"The twins came in, sick with strep throat." He took a drink as well, "I made some comment about them not going home and kissing on their Dad so they don't get him sick." He pursed his lips.

"Yeah, so? Sounds like good advice to me" Teal'c said, confused.

Jack sighed. "Yeah, you'd think so." And looking up into Teal'c's eyes he added, "The Dad's dead."

"Oh shit." Teal'c said, genuinely understanding the situation. "What did you say afterwards?"

"I didn't! I mean, it was awkward as hell. She was really flustered…the little girl is the one who blurted it out…the way she said it kinda makes me think they all struggle with his death a lot." Jack explained in a rush.

"Undoubtedly," was Teal'c's remark.

"She looked mortified, though. I apologized immediately and we both made it through the end of the appointment, but it was painfully uncomfortable." He sighed looking down at his second sandwich half, sitting uneaten. "That's not all though," he added nervously.

Teal'c remained still, except for his left eyebrow, which raised impossibly high.

"After she left the room, I sent the nurse after her with a note." Jack said, embarrassed.

"What, as in a 'folded-piece-of-paper-in-between-classes' kind of note?" Teal'c asked, incredulous.

"I know, pathetic. Sometimes I wonder what possesses me." He said looking to the side and pointing his hand towards himself. He shrugged, "It was just an apology. I wrote my cell number on it and let her know she could call me if she needed anything."

"Has she?" Teal'c asked.

"What, called me?" He asked.

"Yes, has the hot blond, who apparently has _no husband_, called you?" Teal'c asked, leaning forward in his seat.

"No."

Teal'c let out a loud breath of air and looked around the busy sandwich shop. He'd been friends with Jack for a long time and he'd seen the man through horrible life situations. But this wasn't horrible, Teal'c thought, this was good. Well, it could be good. Unless the blond wasn't interested in him at all, but Teal'c knew women drooled over the man, so she had to have noticed him. Yes, this could be good, it could be _great_. In fact, Teal'c thought it was the most hopeful thing that had happened to the man in a long time.

"Call her," Teal'c stated.

Silence.

After a minute Jack broke it. "What do you mean call her?"

"I mean just that: call her. Pick up the phone and call her. Her kids are your patients, right? So look up her number on their patient chart. Call and ask her out." Teal'c said determined.

Jack ran a hand down over his face. "T, I can't just call her out of the blue."

"Why not? Are you just going to sit there thinking about her nonstop and hoping her kids get sick soon so you can see her again?" Teal'c said with a frown.

"No, of course not!" Jack sighed. "It's just – T, I don't know."

Teal'c licked his lips and looked at Jack in the eyes. "O'Neill, I have known you for many years. I've watched you go through a lot of crap no human should ever have to go through and yet you've come out of it a good person; a bit annoying at times, but good." He heard Jack's "Hey!" in the background but trudged on, "But I know you. You've suffered and you're still suffering." Jack looked away and Teal'c pressed on.

"I haven't heard you talk about a woman since Sara. Yeah I've caught you looking, but this is the first time you've been like this. I think it's time. I think you should take a chance. I think you need to call her." Teal'c said, and with that, he got up and put his jacket on. "I have another client at 1:15. See you tonight?"

"Yeah, of course." Jack said and Teal'c turned to leave. "Oh and T!" Jack added, "Thank you."

"You are welcome, my friend." And Teal'c left.


	10. The Call

Sam stirred the pasta sauce one last time, then dipped a spoon in it and brought it to her mouth. _Wow, pretty good._ The girls would never guess that tonight's shells and meat-sauce pasta had 6 hidden vegetables. The only ones you could actually see were the tiny carrot squares. Everything else blended in with the dark tomato sauce and the taste was lost in the flavorful result.

Sam peeked in the living room. The girls were both wearing dress-up clothes and making frogs and snakes out of play dough on the coffee table. _I wonder how long this princess phase will last_, Sam thought to herself. These days the girls barely made it through the door before requesting to put on one of their dress-up clothes. The constant on and off was exhausting. She wondered at what age children learned to put on their own dresses without help.

"Emma, Sophie, start putting your play dough away so we can have dinner, it's almost ready." She said and immediately heard their protests but chose to walk back into the kitchen and ignore it for now. She opened the cabinet where she kept bread and took out two Hawaiian rolls, putting one near each of the girl's plates. She heard a buzzing on the counter. _ My cell phone._

Walking over and picking it up, Sam frowned; she didn't recognize the number. Swiping at the screen, she brought the phone up to her ear, "Hello?"

A male voice answered, "Um, yes, is this Samantha Hanson?"

Putting the phone between her ear and shoulder and reaching for three plates, she said, "Yes, who is this? Look I don't have time for a survey or anything – "

"Um, no." The caller interrupted. "No survey. This is Jack O'Neill"

ssssssss

There was a long pause. A very long pause. From his end of the line Jack could hear the sound of dishes being put down, and then nothing. Had she hung up? _I hope she didn't hang up._

"Um, are you there?" Jack asked, fearing the call had ended.

"I'm sorry, who is this?" Her voice, thought firm, sounded nervous.

"It's Jack O'Neill." _She doesn't know who I am, _Jack thought.

Nothing.

He tried again, "Hum, Dr. O'Neill, Emma and Sophie's pediatrician." Surely that would work.

More plates being put down. Followed by her clearing her throat. "Yes! Of course. I'm sorry about that."

Thinking this was out to a bad start, Jack cleared his throat too. "No, that's ok. I know I'm calling unexpectedly and everything…"

ssssssss

He trailed off and she didn't know if she should say something or if he was going to complete his thought. The girls' cute doctor was on the phone and all she could do was stand there, confused. She had known who it was as soon as he said his name. She had thought of the man often since that day weeks ago when she had fled the pediatrician's office clutching a prescription in her hand. The prescription was tucked away in Sam's nightstand drawer, and she looked at it occasionally, studying the scrawl, thinking about the doctor with brown eyes. And here he was on the phone. _Say something Samantha! Anything! _ But she couldn't think of a thing to say, not one. She slowly sank onto her chair on the kitchen table.

"Is there something you needed?" She blurted out. _Oh god! That sounded like I'm trying to get rid of him._

It's exactly what Jack thought. He immediately spoke in a resigned tone, "I'm sorry, it sounds like I called you at a bad time, I can just – "

"No!" she yelled out, and then tried to calm her voice down, "No. Right now is fine, really."

"Okay," he said.

More silence. Sam was starting to wonder if he had given up and hung up at her awkward lack of conversation skills, when she heard, "Listen, Miss Hanson, I'm not very good at this so I'm just gonna come out with it."

"Okay," She said, hesitant. She still had no idea what was going on. Was he calling about the girl's health? Maybe to make sure she had no hard feelings about the "dead father" comment.

"I was wondering if you wanted to have dinner with me, um, sometime." He said rather quickly, interrupting her thoughts. Then added, "Well, not really sometime. Er, more like this Friday night, if you're not busy."

Silence yet again. Sam stopped breathing altogether.

He was asking her out? The gorgeous doctor was calling her at home to ask her out? _Maybe I heard him wrong._

"Um, are you there? Miss Hanson?" He asked, his voice now very unsure of the situation.

"It's Sam." She said, still not quite confident, "My name is Sam."

ssssssssss

He let out the breath he had been holding and tested out her name, "Sam. Thanks for letting me know. So…um"

"You called to ask me to dinner?" She asked him, confirming what he had said.

"Yes. I called to ask you out to dinner. On Friday night." He stated. He looked down at his feet. This conversation was entirely too awkward for his liking. No wonder it had taken him a week to work up the nerve to dial. Why was she not saying anything?

"Like a date?" She asked, her voice low and soft, almost a whisper.

"Yes. Like a date." He answered. "You know, two people getting to know one another. Food, drinks, babysitter."

He heard her clear her throat again and added, "I promise to be on my best behavior."

"Dr. O'Neill" She started but it was his turn to correct her.

"It's Jack."

"Yes. Jack." She paused, and he could hear her huge intake of air, "I'm gonna need to call you back."


	11. Advice

Sam tapped her foot nervously on the floor, her hands under her thighs, her head rolling this way and that. Finally, the door opened and a short man walked out, followed by Janet, who was making small talk with the balding man with glasses.

"I'll see you next week Walter." Janet said, waving at the man. "Come on in Sam, just let me visit the restroom and I'll be right with you."

Sam knew the routine. She walked into the room and sat on her favorite chair. Looking around the room Sam wondered why she always sat here. The room had several seating options: two grandfather winged-back chairs to one side of the room, where she and Janet usually sat, a traditional therapists' chaise where one could lay down was on the opposite side, and a two person couch in the middle, facing a coffee table and Janet's smaller desk on the other side.

Feeling anxious and jittery, Sam got up and went for the chaise. She had never ventured to this side of the room, not in the 9 months she had been coming to Janet's office. Testing out her courage, she sat down on the chaise and looked around. The view of the office was obviously different here, almost like she was somewhere new. Emboldened, she turned her body and lay down completely, taking a deep breath.

Janet walked into the room and did a double take. Sam never sat anywhere but in her usual chair. "Hi Sam. You doing ok?"

"Yes." Sam answered.

"Ok," Grabbing her notebook, Janet picked a new spot also, on the couch closer to the chaise, "What is so important you couldn't wait until your regular Thursday appointment?" It was Tuesday.

Sam let out a long breath and stared up at the ceiling. She closed her eyes. "I need to discuss something," she hesitated, "with Dr. Fraiser." Opening her eyes and turning her body slightly she looked at Janet and added, "Janet and I can gossip about it later over a glass of wine, but right now I need to talk to Dr. Fraiser."

"Of course," Janet said, unfazed. Janet knew Sam struggled with the lines since her and Sam had become such good friends. She had found Sam to be a wonderful and loyal friend, but knew that Sam still needed Dr. Fraiser, the therapist, and had a hard time blending the two. Most times when they were in this office, they kept things professional and conversations were on task. During their times away from the office, at the mall or at a restaurant, Janet never played the therapist card, and though she knew that befriending one of your clients to that level of sisterly affection was not entirely proper, she tried to pretend that it was. And what the hell, she needed a friend like Sam as much as Sam needed her.

Having returned to her previous position on the chaise, Sam opened her mouth several times only to close it without saying anything. Janet flipped open her notebook and waited.

"There's a man." Sam stated.

"Okay." Janet said and waited.

"There's a man and I don't know what to do." Sam stated again, staring at the ceiling.

"Why don't you start at the beginning, Sam. Who is this man?" Janet asked.

"Dr. O'Neill" She closed her eyes again. _The nicest doctor I've ever met._ "He's the nicest doctor I've ever met." She said out loud, remembering this was her safe room. Anything could be said in here, Janet had rules.

"Is he your doctor? Your gynechologist?" Janet asked.

"Eww, no!" Sam laughed, and stole a glance at Janet. "He's the girl's pediatrician." She smiled. Only Janet would know how to lighten the mood; make her feel more at ease.

"Okay." Janet waited.

"He's gorgeous." She said. Janet smiled, but didn't say anything. "He, um, he's really handsome. Of course I noticed right away, I usually still notice men if they are handsome, but it was different with this one."

"Why was it different with him?" Janet asked, serious.

Sam thought for a while. "I don't know. Maybe it was because he was so good with the girls. You should have seen him with Sophie, made her smile right away."

"It makes you feel good when a man can show care for your children, so maybe this heightens your attraction to him." Janet suggested.

"Maybe," Sam thought, "or maybe it's just him. He has this presence about him. It's both comfortable and unnerving."

Janet let Sam talk. Sam recounted all her encounters with him, including her voyeurism at the gym, the awkward situation where he found out about her being a widow, and the painful phone conversation from the night before.

"And what did you say when you called him back?" Janet asked.

Sam pursed her lips, "I didn't"

"You didn't." Janet repeated, and saw Sam shake her head, a pained expression on her face. "Why didn't you call him back?"

"I don't know!" She shot up on the chaise, "Jan, I don't even know why I cut the conversation off and hung up." She put a hand to her face and groaned. "I don't understand why I'm so, oh I don't know…chicken!" She sighed and brought her hands down. "I wish you had known me years ago. I was so confident, so sure. Now I can't even handle a simple phone conversation with a man."

"I think you handled it just fine. You found a way to end the conversation because you felt like you couldn't make a decision on the spot. Do you feel like you were rude?"

"Well, no not in that sense. We said goodbye and everything. But I know it was a huge brush-off." Sam breathed, "He either thinks I tried to get rid of him or that there was something I had to do with the kids."

Sam was silent, so Janet changed the direction of the conversation. "Sam, what did you feel when you discovered he had called to ask you on a date?"

"Shock." She answered immediately.

"Why?"

"Well for one I didn't even know he was single! A man like that? Come on! He had to be married." Sam said, waving her hand in odd directions then running it through her disheveled hair. Thinking back now she never noticed a ring on his finger. She never even thought to look for one.

"Ok, I give you that. Was there another reason?" Janet pressed.

She paused, but then revealed: "I didn't think he had noticed me."

"But you know you're a beautiful woman." Janet said, her words laced with honesty.

Sam looked over, suspicion etched on her features. "Jan, seriously?"

"Seriously. Sam, we need to keep working on this."

Sam knew what Janet was referring to. Her self-esteem issues, mixed with her self-deprecating behavior, made for a depressing cocktail which is why she was here, sprawled on a chaise, talking to her therapist.

She sighed and revealed her inner thoughts, "I didn't think a man of his caliber would look twice at a tired mother with two small children."

"A man of his caliber. By that do you mean his profession? His physical appearance? The fact that he is nice?" Janet asked.

"Yes. All of the above." Sam hung her head, "I mean, the note on the prescription alone. Most men would just forget the whole mess and then avoid the crazy bereaved mother altogether."

"But he didn't." Janet stated.

"He didn't." Sam repeated.

Janet let out a loud breath and puffed out her cheeks. "Sam, do you want to go out with him?"

Sam chewed on her bottom lip and stared into nothing.

"Yes." She answered after a long silence.

Recognizing what was going on, Janet pushed: "What are you afraid of?"

The list started in her mind and kept growing. "Everything."

Knowing Janet would push for it, she laid it all out, "What if he's a player and dates all the single mothers in his practice?" He had to have a lot of offers, with his looks and his profession, _surely_. "What if I fall for him and then it doesn't work out? Or worse, he dumps me?"

Janet didn't say a words and Sam continued, "He might not like a woman who goes to sleep at 9 p.m. and whose life mostly revolves around chicken nuggets, Elmo, and potty breaks, and that's only when I'm not up to my elbows grading physics papers." She brought one hand up and rubbed at her eyes. "What about the girls? What happens to their little hearts if a man comes into our lives and then leaves?" _What'll happen to me?_ Then, in almost a whisper, she said, "What if he turns out to be like Jonas?"

"Not all men are like Jonas, Sam." Janet said, staring straight into her eyes. Sam looked back but then averted her eyes.

"Okay, you've said a lot of what ifs, and I'm in complete agreement with you on all your fears. But I want you to give me some positive what ifs." Janet requested.

"Positive what ifs." Sam repeated, closing her eyes. Sometimes she hated Janet's exercises. _This is why you came here_, she reminded herself.

"What if he's wonderful, and I have a nice time, and enjoy a nice evening out." She said, and opened her eyes to see if Janet approved. Nodding, Janet asked for another.

"What if we're very compatible and I end up less lonely and more…happy." Receiving another nod, Janet asked for one more.

Taking a deep breath and closing here eyes, Sam said, "What if he's everything I've been praying for since Jonas died."

Without opening her eyes, she heard Janet say, "Time's up."

Bending over to put her notebook on the coffee table, Janet added, "By the way, I happen to know Cassie's available to babysit Friday night."

**A/N: Thank you for reading and for the reviews. Would love to hear your thoughts on the plot and characters. **


	12. The Call Back

Sam sat on her bed and stared at the phone. It was 8:15pm. The girls were in bed, the dishes were done, and all the papers were graded. _Come on, Sam._

She toed off her shoes and fully sat on the bed, with her legs crisscrossed under her. Holding the phone with her right hand, and the prescription on the left, Sam dialed the number written there, and hit the green call button on the screen. It rang twice before he picked up.

"O'Neill."

She hesitated only for a second, "Hi, this is Sam."

"Sam?"

"Samantha, um, Hanson."

"Yeah! Of course, hi." He answered.

"Mm, look I'm sorry about last night. I never called you back." Sam said, fiddling with the corner of the prescription paper.

"Nah, it's alright. I'm the one who should apologize. I caught you off-guard." Jack explained, sounding resigned and defeated.

"Yeah, I guess you did." She said, not wanting to lie.

"Listen, Sam. There's no hard feelings. I'm sorry to have assumed you'd be interested. I hope that you'll still bring the girls in to see me. They're great patients."

Startled, Sam immediately said, "No! No, I'm interested!" Then realizing how desperate she sounded made a sound against the phone. "Ugh. Sorry." She could hear him chuckle on his end of the line.

"Ok, let me start over." Sam said, "I'm calling you back because I'm free on Friday night." _There, I said it._

"Excellent!" And she thought he was probably smiling. "That's great," He added.

"So, should I meet you somewhere?" She asked cautiously.

"Hum, actually, I could pick you up. Unless you prefer to just meet me." He said, giving her plenty of options. He could tell she was as nervous as he was about this.

Suddenly Sam had a thought of the girls still being awake and seeing their pediatrician take their mom out, or of having to introduce him to Cassie, and it was all a bit too much, so she blurted out, "Meet you. I'd rather meet you somewhere. If you don't mind."

"Of course not."

They decided on a place and time and she said goodbye. "I'll see you Friday then."

"Ok, Sam. I'm looking forward to it."

"Me too," Sam said, and hung up.

Pulling the phone from her ear and making sure the call was truly disconnected, Sam fell back onto the bed with a loud thud and took a slow, deep breath. Clutching the phone tightly in her hand, Sam bit the inside of her cheek. "Nothing to it." She said to herself. Bringing her legs up onto the bed and planting her feet on the comforter so that her knees were bent, Sam brought the prescription up to her face and slowly read the note again, though if she were honest with herself, she had the contents memorized. With her thumb she slowly traced the signature scrawled on the bottom of the page. "Jack O'Neill," she whispered to herself.

"Jack." She said again, out loud.

Her face slowly contorted into a huge, massive smile and her eyes closed after a hum.


	13. Thursday

Sam walked into Daniel's office only to realize there were two students in there talking to him. "Oh I'm so sorry Dr. Jackson, I'll be outside." She said politely, but Daniel stood and the students followed suit.

"No its okay, Sam. We were done here." Daniel said, gesturing the students towards the door. "The next time either of you want to play funny with your grades, let me know beforehand so that I don't actually waste time reading the rubbish you guys call writing." He said, and nodded towards the exit. Catching his meaning, the students scurried out the door, a series of "Yes Sirs" being pronounced like Daniel was some kind of General. Daniel closed the door on them and turned toward Sam, letting out a large breath. "Good god this job sucks."

"Ouch." Sam grimaced.

"Yeah, wait to you hear the real story." Daniel said, grabbing his jacket. "Those losers didn't think I read any of the essays on the homework assignments, since I just give them checkmarks on the top of the page."

"But you do." Sam looked to him for confirmation and saw him nodding.

They made their way down the hall and out of the building. "Oh yeah. But they figured they'd test out their theory by writing 'our archaeology professor is a geek' right in the middle of a sentence."

Sam stopped and gaped at him. "You're joking."

Unlocking his car door for her he shook his head, "If only. They also misspelled 'archeology.'" Sam laughed at that.

They got in and he started the car. "The other kid wrote, 'I like hot chicks with my anthropology' and at the end of his essay, 'I wonder how hot the chicks really are in Egypt.'"

Sam laughed out loud. "How stupid. Were we that senseless when we were young?" Sam asked him.

"I guess." He replied.

"How did you punish them?" Sam asked.

"Well, I know you would've probably flunked 'em." He said, knowing Sam. "But you know me, I'm a softie."

She shook her head, "So you just told them not to do it again."

Daniel parked his car at the restaurant and they got out. "Yeah, pretty much."

SSSSSSS

The hole-in-the-wall Mediterranean restaurant was getting more and more popular, and Daniel and Sam were crowded in a tiny table near the front door. Every time the door opened, the loud bell hanging over the door rung and Sam drew her jacket closer over the chill that came in with new customers.

"So, are you and the girls doing anything over the weekend?" Daniel asked, taking a large bite out of his shawarma.

Sam looked up at him then back at her salad. "Actually, I have a date."

Daniel stopped chewing and looked at her until she met his eyes. "Like, with a man?" He wiped his mouth on a napkin.

She tipped her head to the side and gave him a look. "Yes, Daniel with a man." She huffed. "It's not that outrageous that a man would ask me out, is it?" She looked around the restaurant making sure no one could hear her.

Daniel shook his head "It's not outrageous at all that a man would ask you out." He said, "I was sure that men asked you out all the time. It's just…" He looked down again and picked his shawarma back up, "I didn't know you ever said yes."

She didn't answer and went back to pushing her salad around with her fork. After a minute she said, "Janet thinks it's time." Then she speared a falafel off her salad and plopped it in her mouth.

Daniel nodded, taking a drink of his iced tea. "Do _you_ think it's time?"

_Do I think it's time? _ Sam thought, chewing on her falafel. Daniel was such a good friend, and had seen her at her lowest during her entire relationship with Jonas. He was the one who convinced her to move back to Colorado Springs, who had arranged a meeting with the Dean of Sciences for her at UCCS; gotten her set up at the new house. He was the one who had sat at the computer with her searching through the insurance's long list of shrinks, combing through the credentials for the best therapist to meet Sam's needs. Janet had been a godsend.

"I don't know if it's time or not. I don't know if I'm ready or not. But I do know that I want to go." She stated.

Daniel wiped his face again and smiled. "Good. Then you should go."

Sam smiled at him. "I'm going."

"When?" Daniel asked, smiling back.

"Tomorrow." Sam stated.

"Tomorrow." Daniel repeated. "Good."

**A/N: I had forgotten about this chapter. I love Daniel and ****Mediterranean f****ood so I had to keep it. I'm editing "The Date" and you'll get it tomorrow. Tomorrow!**


	14. The Date

Sam parked her car and flipped down the visor, looking at herself one last time in the mirror. _Pretty good,_ she thought to herself. She had tried on almost every outfit in her closet on Wednesday night, trying to decide what to wear. A skirt? A dress? She didn't want to send the wrong signal, but she did want to keep the man interested. In the end she settled for her black jeans, which hugged her figure nicely, and her newest red top. It was long sleeved and the neckline was a modern rectangle around her collar bone, exposing some flesh but leaving all her cleavage covered. She wore her black leather jacket over it and her hair and makeup looked like she had made an effort. Putting the visor back into place and turning the engine off, Sam checked her phone one last time, 7:02pm. It was time.

Walking up the steps to the restaurant, Sam took calming breaths. She was incredibly nervous. _Probably because the last man who took me on a date was Jonas._ Walking through the door, she looked around at the lobby. It was crowded with people waiting, shuffling about and holding onto those flat vibrator things that announced when your table was ready. She walked up to the hostess stand and was about to ask if a Jack O'Neill was already seated when she felt a hand on her elbow. Turning, she was face to face with the man himself. He was wearing dark jeans, a red sweater and black leather jacket. _Oh, great. We match. _ She smiled lamely at him.

"Hi," He smiled back, totally unaware of the matching outfits. "Our table is this way." Meandering through the small crowd in the lobby, and with his hand still on her elbow, he guided her to a table in one of the corners of the restaurant. "Is this okay?" He asked, showing her the cozy square table.

"Yeah, this is great. You must've gotten here really early to already have a table." She commented, while he pulled her chair out and went to sit to her right, instead of across from her like most couples usually did on a first date.

"Nah, I made reservations. This place gets packed on the weekends. Have you ever been here?" He asked her, scooting his chair closer to the table. He took off his jacket and threw it on the empty chair next to him.

"No, I don't get to eat out much, what with the girls and everything." She stated, awkwardly. They were sitting pretty close to each other, and Sam could smell his cologne. She looked at his face and focused on his jaw and the lines created by his smile. She realized she was more attracted to this man than she had previously thought, and his smell was making her a little dizzy. She wondered absently what he was thinking.

As she went to steal another glance his way, a waiter showed up asking for their drink orders.

"Guinness, please." Jack said.

"And you Ma'am?" asked the waiter, his pencil at the ready.

"Um," she thought, and Jack interrupted, "Get whatever you'd like, really."

She looked at him and smiled. Turning to the waiter she said, "Sangria, please."

The waiter left and the table fell silent.

"How are the girls doing?" Jack asked, making small talk.

"They're great, thanks. If they can just make it through the month without picking up another virus." Sam said, and they both smiled. She took her own jacket off, starting to feel hot, and hung it behind her on her chair.

Silence again. For some reason Sam couldn't think of any topic of conversation. And talking about the weather seemed too pathetic even for her.

"What about you?" Sam asked, "Are things busy at the office?"

"Not really. Same stuff this week. Ear infections, colds, that sort of thing." He answered and she nodded. She took the time to watch him again. He was different than the two men she had seen both at the office and at the gym. He was well put-together here, clean shaven and crisp. And he was nervous, like her. At the office he was focused, a man doing his job. At the gym he was relaxed, letting the stress of the day ebb from his body. Here, now, he was fidgety, playing with the menu, then his napkin, then the candle at the table. _Why would he be nervous?_

The quiet was getting really unbearable now.

"Listen, Sam –"

"I need to –"

They both started at the same time, and both came to an abrupt halt, realizing the other had something important to say. The date had only gone on for 5 minutes and it was as uncomfortable as an open-backed hospital gown. Sam put her elbows on the table and played with her shirt sleeves.

Jack spoke first, "Go ahead, please."

"Thanks." Sam said, "I need to apologize for being so awkward that time you called. Well, both times on the phone actually. And I guess right now too, because this is a bit of a disaster." She chanced a look in his direction and he was nodding, and chuckling. She let out the breath she was holding and put her hands back down.

"Yeah, it's pretty awkward, but I wouldn't call it a disaster just yet." He teased looking at her, and she laughed.

Good, they needed to break the tension. This gave Sam some confidence, and she continued, "It's just that you didn't just catch me off guard or call at a bad time or anything. It's just that I was in absolute shock that you were calling to ask me out on a date."

"Hum, what?" Jack asked tilting his head to the side and furrowing his brows. "What did you think I would call about?"

Sam looked down embarrassed, "I thought the girls or something, I don't know. I just was surprised someone like you would be interested in someone like me." Sam said tracing her finger on the table and closing her eyes slightly. _Wow, Samantha. You really are terrible at this, really, really ba –_

"You're kidding, right?"

Sam looked at him, pressed her lips into a thin line and gently shook her head from side to side. Her cheeks were red now, and she was so hot she was sure her armpits bore the marks of her humiliation.

"You've looked at yourself in a mirror, right?" Jack said, dead serious.

Then she spoke up, "I'm not, um." She cleared her throat, "I didn't say that to fish for compliments. I just haven't been on a date in a long time, and I know you probably do this all the time, but I don't, and it's probably why I'm being so – " She had to pause and clear her throat, "so damn awkward. I promise I'm usually a normal person." She rambled on but was saved by the waiter delivering their drinks.

"Can I start you off with an appetizer?" The young waiter asked.

Jack looked at her and asked, "Do you like calamari?"

"I love it!" she said.

"Bring us the fried calamari, please." Jack asked the waiter, and he ran off. Sam reached for her drink, but just played with the water droplets on the side of the glass.

Jack was starting to understand this woman more. Three year old twins and a social life as dead as her husband; no wonder her self-esteem was dead too. Picking up where they left off, Jack told her, "I know you're a normal person. I've seen you as a normal person, at my office, with the twins. I didn't just ask you out because you're beautiful."

Stunned, Sam whipped her head up to look at him, but his eyes were so intense she had to look back down, staring at her drink instead. _Did he just call me beautiful?_ Feeling the heat at her cheeks, she picked up her glass and took a long drink from the straw. It was delicious and the alcohol traveled nicely down her throat.

"I might have seen you being normal at the gym too." Jack confessed.

"What!" Sam said, looking back at him with a shy smile. "You've been stalking me at the gym?"

"Only a little." He smirked, "Hey, It's not my fault your favorite spot to stand during your class is by the clear glass wall!"

She laughed at that, then tried to defend herself, "It's the only spot at the back of the class! That way I don't mess anybody up if I make a wrong move."

"Oh come on! You could practically teach the class!" He said, encouragingly.

"How closely exactly, have you been watching me, _Doctor_?" Sam half-joked.

"Don't worry," Jack assured her, "I'm usually there way before most people wake up. I've only seen you a couple of times."

Sam took another drink, "I've actually seen you there too, "she confessed, "You've always got your side kick with you. The Wall-of-Muscle-Guy."

"Ah, yeah. That's T, he's my personal trainer. Well, he was just my personal trainer when I met him 4 years ago. Now he's a pretty good friend." Jack said taking a swig of his beer.

The calamari arrived and Sam helped herself. She had to keep herself from moaning after her first bite. God, she missed eating good food like this. "This is delicious, wow." She said to Jack.

They ordered their meal and Sam wasn't shy about it. Jack ordered a steak, rare, and loaded baked potato. Sam opted for chicken and pasta smothered in wine and butter sauce and covered in mushrooms. The waiter left and a group of college-aged kids walked by, headed to a table down the other end of the restaurant. One of the kids turned at Sam's table and stopped. "Hey Dr. Hanson!" The kid said with a bob of his head.

Startled, Sam looked up, but recognizing one of her pet students, she smiled. "Hey Peter, nice to see you."

"Right on," said the kid with a weird pump of his fist. "Well, have a nice dinner!" And then he was gone, following his friends down the restaurant isle.

Looking back over, Jack's face was a mixture of surprise and confusion. "_Doctor_ Hanson?" He asked.

When she just smiled in reply, her mouth full of squid, he asked again, "It's _Doctor_ Hanson?"

"Yep." She ate another calamari.

Jack was just gawking at her. "What kind of doctor are you?"

"Ph.D." She clarified, and the confusion from his face receded just a little.

"In what field?" he asked, his eyebrows still queried.

"Theoretical Astrophysics" she said. "That was my pet student from my Electrodynamics class."

"Electrodynamics class?" He parroted.

"I teach at the University of Colorado." She explained.

"The one in Colorado Springs." He confirmed, making sure she wasn't commuting to and from Boulder.

"Yep. Though I sometimes drive to Boulder for a lecture or two." She said nonchalantly, putting another calamari in her mouth and taking the fork back out slowly, causing Jack's mouth to fall open slightly.

He sat stunned for a moment, wondering about the attractive woman in front of him: _mother, genius, and apparently really likes calamari_.

"So you're a genius." He stated.

"Hey!" She feigned offense, "You're a pediatrician!"

"Not the same." He said, shaking his head with a smirk, throwing the last calamari in his mouth. "I don't even know what 'theoretical astrophysics' is."

"Maybe not, but you can't make it through med school and residency on a D average. You're smart too." She stated, satisfied. Then she added, "It's not like I lied about it. You're the one that called me Mrs. Hanson, I just never corrected you."

"Yeah, about that. I'm sorry again about what happened at the office. I'm not sure what the situation, um, is but I should never-"

"You already apologized for that" she interrupted him. "In the prescription."

"Yeah." He said taking a swig of his beer. Then he tilted his head towards her, "Can I ask about that?"

She looked unsure but said, "Okay."

"How long has it been since he, um –"

"Two years." She said quickly, "The twins were 12 months old."

"Wow." He said, genuinely surprised. "That must have been hard on you."

Her expression changed and she blurted out, "Can we not?"

Then, seeing his face become apologetic, she added, "I'm sorry. It's just…not 'first date' conversation."

The waiter chose that moment to bring out their plates. He was quick about it, a hurried, "Enjoy" before turning on his heels and leaving again.

"First date, huh?" He said. "So does that mean there's gonna be a second date?"

She looked from him to the food and back again.

"Probably. Especially if this is any indication of how well you'll feed me."

He laughed out loud and she smiled like she hadn't smiled in a long time.


	15. Kindness

Sam stuck the plates from breakfast in the dishwasher and went to pour herself another cup of coffee. The girls were in the living room, watching Saturday morning cartoons. Their living room had a small square children's table in the corner of the room and the girls used it for snacks, projects and tea parties. They sat now at opposite's sides, crayons to coloring books, pausing occasionally to watch the television.

Sam came into the room with her cup and sat on the couch, her feet tucked under herself. She allowed herself the luxury of remembering last night. After the initial awkwardness was broken, they had fallen into a comfortable pattern of conversation that she found easy and entertaining. He spoke about why he had wanted to be a pediatrician, always having loved kids; she tried to explain astrophysics, and discovered he wasn't as clueless as he let on. And there was definite chemistry between them. The attraction was clearly mutual, and anytime their hands accidently touched on the table, the electricity startled them both.

Sam let out a long sigh and sipped her coffee. He had paid for dinner and walked her to her car, and she was surprised when he didn't make a snide remark about her driving a big SUV. Later she had seen him drive off in a huge 4x4 green truck, so it was just as well. He had told her he enjoyed the evening, and she had mumbled something about thanking him for the meal and the conversation and then suddenly she was in his arms, in a hug. She remembered being overwhelmed by the scent of pure man. _Was it his aftershave or just him?_ She had hugged him back, glad of the contact, unsure if she should say anything else. And then he pulled back, gave her a brief kiss on her cheek, mumbled that he would be in touch, and then left. Had it even been a kiss or just a brush of his lips against her skin? Regardless, the effect was significant, because here she was, the morning after, sitting on the couch thinking about the ephemeral kiss with longing.

The sound of the doorbell chiming pulled her out of her wanderings. Peeking out through the window, she saw a van parked out front and a teenage boy at her front door, a box at his hand. _Delivery boy._ Not worried about her disheveled and still in pajama appearance, she opened the door just a tad, and peeked out, "Yes?"

"Delivery for a Samantha Hanson?" The boy asked shyly.

"That's me." She said opening the door enough to be handed the box. Looking back towards the car, the boy quickly called out, already halfway to the delivery van, "Don't worry, the guy already tipped me."

"What guy?" Sam yelled out to him.

The boy stopped, turned around and shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know, some old guy. Paid extra to have it delivered before 9 am." And then he was gone, tires screeching down the street.

Going inside, Sam closed the door with her foot and the girls were inside waiting to see who was at the door.

"What is that, Mommy?" Asked Emma, overly excited, her sister close at her heels.

"I'm not sure girls, you wanna see?" Sam walked back into the living room, the girls following behind, and they all sat on the couch, the box perched on Sam's legs. She took the card off the top of the box, the logo for a local bakery etched on the envelope. Opening the box, the three of them gasped at once.

Inside were twelve cupcakes, beautifully decorated. Taking out a pamphlet-looking paper that was tucked into the corner, Sam showed the girls the picture and description of each cupcake. Apparently it was a sample of the bakery's many cupcake flavors, the icing and sprinkles and embellishments making the girls squeal with delight. Sam laughed out loud.

"Thank you for buying us cupcakes Mommy!" Sophie said, giving Sam a sloppy kiss on the cheeks. Sam realized the girls didn't have any reason to believe they were a gift from someone else, since they had never received an at-home delivery before. Emma gave Sam a huge hug and asked if they could eat one.

"Yes, of course you can eat one, but I'm not the one who bought them. Let's read the card." She said, pulling out the envelope that had fallen to her lap while the girls decided which cupcake to eat first.

Pulling out the note and unfolding it, she found, in a now familiar handwriting:

_Sam,_

_I wanted to send you flowers, but after discovering your love of food, I thought this was more appropriate. I hope the girls enjoy it too._

_It was a great first date. Is it too soon to schedule the second?_

_Jack_

"Oh boy," Sam said out loud, but as she said it her stomach fluttered and her mouth turned upward and as Emma caught her grinning like an idiot, she blurted out, "It's from Dr. O'Neill."

Much later, when the girls were napping and Sam was indulging in her second cupcake of the day, she texted him for the first time.

_"The cupcakes were a big hit. Thank you. How does Friday night sound?"_

It didn't take long for her phone to beep, signaling the incoming message:

_"Sounds perfect. I'll call you this week with plans."_


	16. Honesty and Affection

Jack drove up to the house and parked in the driveway. An old black Honda civic was parked in front of the house by the mailbox, and Jack assumed that was the babysitter. The house was a nice one story with a two car garage and a tiny front porch. There was a two person swing on the porch to the left of the door, and a dead plant to the right of it.

Getting his phone out, he texted Sam, "I'm here. Parked in the driveway. Take your time."

They had talked on the phone during the week, and it was a lot less awkward. He had asked if this time he could pick her up. When she hesitated, he asked her if she was nervous about the girls seeing him take her out. He understood that the girls were very young, and that she might worry about introducing a man into their lives. Sighing, she admitted that she thought it was too soon for the girls to see her with a man whom they clearly already attributed to a different aspect of their lives. When he suggested picking her up without coming to the door, she agreed immediately.

Without delay he saw her come out the door and turn around to lock it. _ Wow_. She was in a dress. It was black and came to just above her knees and hugged her figure beautifully. She turned and walked towards the car, and with a few swift motions she was sitting next to him in the passenger seat.

"Hi." She said, "Thank you for picking me up."

"You're welcome." He said, "You look beautiful."

She immediately blushed and ducked her head. "Thanks. You look nice too." She looked up at him. "Shall we?"

Putting the car into gear, Jack made his way to the restaurant.

"Do you like steak?" Jack asked in the car.

"Of course I like steak. Who doesn't like steak?" Sam said with a smile.

"I don't know. Some women eat like little birds. I was pleasantly surprised last week you didn't order a salad as your main course." He said in jest, making a turn with the wheel.

She made a sound of acknowledgement but didn't say anything.

"I didn't mean to offend you by that." Jack said nervously.

"No, of course not. I'm," Sam cleared her throat, "I like everything, really. And I don't take the girls out to eat much, so an evening where I get to order good food and take my time eating it, well, it's a change." She said, her hand on her thigh and her eyes on the man next to her.

"I bet. Well I happen to think steak is a food group all on its own." Jack said.

"Ah, nice. So where are we going?" Sam asked.

"There's this Brazilian steakhouse I love. I don't go there often, but it's excellent. Have you ever been to one?" Jack asked, stealing a look at her from the road.

"Is it one of those that they bring the skewers of beef to your table?" Sam asked raising her eyebrows. She had heard about the exact place in town, knew the food was excellent, and had been told exactly how pricey it was.

"Yep. They keep 'em coming till you eat your weight in grilled meat. It's amazing." Jack said.

"I've never been. My friend Daniel raves about it though. Says it's very cultural." Sam said eyeing her dress again. "Maybe you should've warned me."

"Why's that?" Jack asked.

"I should've worn something that stretches." Sam said with a smirk, "I mean, if I'm about to eat my weight in grilled meat and all."

He laughed. "You'll love it."

The restaurant was indeed full of culture. There was a 3 person band in the center playing bossa nova music and the room was surrounded by murals of Brazil's scenic beauty. Although Sam noticed a sign at the foyer saying "No Reservations Please," Jack had arrived, given his name and been ushered straight through to the dining room. Their table was small and intimate, near the wall but with a clear view of the band. Sam wondered how often Jack took women on dates; he had the restaurant staff at two different places at his fingertips. They sat and ordered their drinks. Jack again asked for Guinness, and in the absence of Sam's go-to sangria, was convinced to try a native favorite, caipirinha.

"Whoa" Sam took a sip of her drink, "That's very strong!" She said, mixing the lime with her straw.

Jack laughed. "Yeah. Go easy on that. I think it's brandy and sugar. It'll go straight to your head."

"Seriously! No wonder it's so good." She said taking another small sip. "Do you want to try it?" She said tipping the glass his way.

Timidly, Jack reached for the glass, "Sure." He took a sip. She was half expecting him to avoid the small straw she had drunk out of and use the rim, but he had put his lips around the straw, and Sam was mesmerized by the act, the intimacy of sharing her drink with this near stranger.

The moment was broken by the first of the waiters who showed up. Seeing a green coin by each of their plates, he started carving slices of meat for them tableside. Sam was amazed as they continued to show up, skewers of every cut of grilled beef she could imagine, until her plate was full and Jack told her to turn her coin to the red side, "They'll stop coming when they see red."

"Why didn't you tell me earlier?!" She laughed, staring at her huge mountain of meat.

"Are you kidding?" Jack said on a grin, "Your face when they show up is priceless!"

She ducked her head and smiled, starting to cut and arrange her plate.

"So, it's our second date." Jack said.

"Mmhum," Sam mumbled, chewing.

"I was thinking about it, how um, how to get to know each other better." He paused and saw Sam looking at him expectantly, "And I think we should ask some truth questions."

Sam looked dubious, "Truth questions? Like truth or dare?"

He grimaced, "Sorry, I didn't mean to sound so juvenile. And no, not like truth or dare, more like 20 questions."

"Like 20 questions about the other person." Sam stated.

"Yeah! But you have to answer truthfully, whether the answer pains you or not. You game?"

Sam looked around the restaurant for a moment, mentally deciding if she wanted to do this or not. She was glad he had been thinking about this. She wanted so much to get to know him better, but the conversation was still shy and shallow. "Do I get to ask questions too?"

"Yeah, we can take turns." Jack answered.

"Sure, but I reserve the right to 3 passes." Sam said, sipping her drink again.

"Three passes! Come on, just one!" Jack said with a quirk of his lips.

"Two and you've got a deal."

"Ok." Jack said, nodding his head.

"Ok, shoot." She said, putting more meat into her mouth.

"Right." Jack sucked in a breath. "Is this the first date you've been on since your husband died?"

"No." She said immediately and he nodded. Then she added, "This is my second. The first one was last Friday."

"Touché" Jack said, reaching for the plate of fried bananas sitting on their table. Sam smiled triumphantly.

"My turn." She said, putting her fork down.

"Ok"

"How old are you?" Sam asked, even toned.

"Wow. Coming right out with it aren't we?" He said, and she laughed. "40," He answered. "How old are you?"

"34." She answered. And they both took another drink.

"Ok, so 40. Have you ever been married?" Sam asked, hesitant.

"Yes. Divorced." He answered, and watched her expression change. This is what dates were for, he reminded himself, getting to know a person.

"My turn again. How long were you married?" Jack asked her.

That question seemed to throw her off. "Hum, almost two years." She said, "Same question."

"Seven years." He said.

"Seven years." She repeated blinking, "So you have children?"

"Pass." He said without thinking.

"Pass?" she questioned him, her eyes huge. "I'm dating you and I don't get to know if you have children?" She said incredulously.

He seemed to realize what he had said and apologized, "I'm sorry. Of course you do." Then added, "No children."

He let out a breath and she did the same and they both chewed on some more grilled protein.

"How did your husband die?" Jack tried.

"Pass." Sam said, resigned.

"Yeah, this game has lost its cool, hasn't it?" Jack said immediately, his face scrunched up in a grimace.

"Yes." Sam replied on a long breath. Then she added, "Well, it has merit, but perhaps if we wait until the alcohol kicks in to ask the tough questions?"

He looked at her, really looked at her. Looking down at her plate her blond bangs fell onto her face and she flicked her head to the left, trying to move them off her eyes without using her hands. Her face was beautiful in the dim restaurant lighting, her skin soft looking, her lip makeup making her lips shimmer with the lone candle on their table. She was strikingly beautiful. He wondered if she had any idea how much he thought so.

They ate their meal, and surprisingly the conversation flowed more easily. Sam seemed less inhibited by her initial uncertainty with the situation. She had gone on the first date with such caution, deciding to take a chance and see if the man was either crazy or a complete loser, hiding behind his handsome doctor persona. He turned out to be neither. After the first date she already knew that he was charming, well mannered, intelligent, and the more she spent time with him the more she realized that she wasn't the only one who noticed his good looks. Women around the restaurant turned their heads and checked him out, less noticeably than if a man had done it, but Sam could tell. Knowing she had nothing to lose, Sam plunged head first into more dangerous territory:

"How often do you do this?" She asked him.

"This?" He asked, genuinely clueless about her meaning.

"Date. Take women out." She clarified.

"Oh." He looked away and pressed his lips together. "I haven't in a long time."

"A long time, like a few months?" She tested.

"A long time as in a couple of years," he answered honestly, "maybe three."

"Oh." Sam answered, looking shocked.

"Why?" he asked, but she was silent for a long time.

"So what's wrong with you?" Sam broke the silence, dead serious.

"Pardon me?" He asked, his eyebrows shooting up.

"I mean, you have to have some monumental flaw." He looked at her with a confused, hurt expression, but she continued, "At first I thought, well maybe he's conceited, or an ass, or boring beyond belief," she got out before he interrupted, coughing on his beer.

"Well, am I?" he said, but she continued on as if he hadn't spoken.

"Or he's on the rebound from a long-term girlfriend and needs to make her jealous, or maybe he's a Casanova on the hunt for the woman of the month." She finished and he looked a bit wounded.

"Are you done? You haven't mentioned con artist. I could be after your money." He said, dripping bitterness.

As if noticing his expression for the first time, and thinking about her rant, she said, "I'm sorry. That sounded horrible." Then she added, "And I don't have any money."

"Yeah, what's your point?" He said, losing patience.

"My point is there has to be something wrong with you." At that he took his napkin off his lap and put in on the table. Unfazed by his defeated face, she looked him straight in the eye and continued, "Because you are none of those things. You are the epitome of a gentlemen, charming beyond belief, good at conversation, pleasant to be around, and half of the women in this restaurant have already checked you out," she said looking around, "at least twice."

"I don't care about the other women in this restaurant." He said, serious, his napkin going back onto his lap.

"See, _that's_ my point." She explained, like it was some physics equation, "Any woman in here would have you in a heartbeat. I mean, a good looking, unattached doctor? You could have your pick right now. Why are you interested in a woman with two small children, a mediocre part-time job, and bags under her eyes?"

Jack was silent for a long time, trying to understand this woman he was with. Looking at her, he tried to remind himself why he was here, in this expensive restaurant, with this beautiful woman, who didn't have a clue about her true worth. _Because you want her._ Yes, he knew. And it wasn't just that he wanted her in his bed. He wanted her sipping coffee at his breakfast table, and surfing channels on his couch, and dear god he even wanted to be the one to tuck those little girls into their little beds. He sighed. _You're pathetic, Jack. _

"I don't really know what you want me to say." He began, "and if you want to be done with this I'll take you home and stop bothering you. But I'm here with you right now because I want to be, because I chose to be." He was looking right at her, into her blue eyes.

"I know I could have other women," he continued, feeling unsure for the first time, "there are single mothers that come into the office that you wouldn't believe the things they say to me in front of their own kids to try to get my attention." He sighed when she looked victorious, being right. "But you're the first woman that I've looked at in a long time that I thought I could actually enjoy being with." Then he added, "Not that the last five minutes hasn't made me rethink that."

"I know." She let out her breath. "I'm really sorry. I think this drink did go straight to my head."

He didn't say anything else, but still looked unsure of what to do next.

"I like you." She said, out of nowhere. "I like you a lot."

And at that he sat stunned looking at her. "Could 'a fooled me with all your 'deadly flaw' talk."

"Sorry." She said, putting her hand on top of his on the table. "I'm really, really bad at this."

"No kidding." He said honestly.

When she tried to take her hand away after patting his twice, he grabbed at her hand and wouldn't let it go. "Truth questions. Let's try again. No passes."

Looking down at their hands, she nodded, "Okay."

"Ok." He said, "What kind of music do you listen to?"

She looked up at him strangely. "What?"

"I'm easing us in." He said, shrugging his shoulders, his hand still gripping hers.

Her mouth twitched, and a corner pulled up in a half smile. "Currently, toddler music." She said truthfully, "You?"

"Mostly classical." He answered. "Your turn."

"Okay." She thought of another easy question to break the tension, "Where are you from?"

"Minnesota. Well, I was born in Illinois but we moved to Minnesota when I was young." He said.

"How did you end up in Colorado?" She asked.

"Med school." He said. "Colorado was the only place I could get a scholarship. Then I got married, and during my residency decided to stay here." He said and she nodded.

"It's your turn now." Sam told him looking at her drink.

"How did he die?" Jack asked her softly.

She looked back up at him, biting the inside of her cheek before saying meekly, "What else? Car accident."

His eyes went wide and he nodded, "I'm so sorry."

"Jack," she tried the name on her lips. "Um, he wasn't. Uh." She licked her lips and took her hand back into her own lap. "We weren't doing well, uh, I mean, our marriage," she had to stop while clearing her throat, "we weren't…" she stopped again and looked up at him. He was watching her, no judgment in his eyes, nothing but understanding and calmness. She could get lost in his eyes.

"What?" He urged her on.

"When he died, it was awful, yes." She paused, then added hesitantly, "but it was also my salvation out of a horrible marriage." And after she said it she blew out a large breath, and looked away, her hands fisting at her sides, as if by saying it she had burned herself.

SSSSSSSSSS

Pulling the truck back into her driveway, Jack turned the ignition off and looked at her. She was staring out of the passenger side window, her left hand in her lap, her right elbow resting against the car door with her hand at her mouth, biting at a nail. He knew she deserved the same token of honesty as she had given him tonight.

"I know what my flaw is." He said, and she looked at him, her hand falling away from her face.

"I lied at the restaurant," He said and she frowned, "I said I didn't have any children."

Her eyebrows rose and she said, "Okay. You have children?"

"No. Not anymore." He said, looking at the steering wheel. "But I did."

Sam blinked, "I don't understand. Did your ex-wife take full custody?"

Shaking his head he said in a shaky voice, "Charlie and my ex-wife Sara died two years ago." He said and he heard her gasp. But he needed to say it all at once. "I wasn't there. She was driving him home after having a late night at her dad's house, and – "

He was cut off by Sam, who had somehow made it to the middle of the cab in his truck, and was now encircling him in her arms, hugging him tightly. He heard a faint, "I'm sorry" from her soft voice and could do nothing else except hug her back.

"How old was he?" Jack heard Sam ask.

He cleared his throat and answered, "Five." He could already hear her gasp.

"Oh my god, Jack."

They were like that for several minutes, him breathing deeply, her rubbing circles on his back with her small palms. When he pulled back slightly and looked into her face, she said, "I guess we're both a bit broken, aren't we?"

Nodding, Jack went to place a soft kiss on her cheek, but at the last minute she moved, and the kiss landed on her lips instead, which was Sam's intent. Sam kissed his lips lightly, very lightly, then pulled back and looked at him again. Seeing affection in his eyes, she leaned back in and kissed him again, with a bit more force, but kept her lips closed against Jack's slightly open mouth. Far from passionate, the kiss was all he needed: comfort.

Pulling back completely, she opened the car door and started to scoot her body out of the car. Jack's arm pulled out and caught hers before she was out of the car completely. "Thank you," he said.

"I'll see you soon, Jack" Sam said, and disappeared into her house.

**Author's Note: **

Thank you for all that have read and reviewed this story. Your feedback is so helpful and appreciated. Writing these two characters has been mind-grinding but very enjoyable.

The way Charlie died in the show was too much to swallow. Period. Since land-vehicle accidents are the number 4 killer in America, that is how all our family members met their fate. Call me unoriginal, go ahead. I'll take that over a bullet any day.


	17. Communication

It was Monday night at 8 p.m. when the phone rang. The kids were tucked in bed, and sad as it was, so was Sam. She had a cup of tea at her bed side and her laptop on her lap. Righting herself, she immediately reached for her cell phone on the bedside table. _It's Jack, _she smiled.

She swiped at the screen and answered, "Hi."

"Hey." He spoke.

"How are you?" She said, patting her hair down as if he could see her.

"I'm fine. Long day today. What about you?" He asked her.

"I'm good too. I don't work on Mondays so it was just me and the girls today." She told him.

"That's nice. What days do you work?"

"Tuesdays and Thursdays at UCCS. And I occasionally lecture at the Air Force Academy on Fridays and Saturdays." She explained.

"On theoretical astrophysics." He stated.

"Yes, on theoretical astrophysics." She giggled, "I'm doing a lecture this Friday on wormhole physics."

"Wormholes? Really?"

"Yep. Theoretical, remember?" She said over the phone, taking a sip of her tea.

"I had to take physics in med school." Jack told her.

"Really? Well, that doesn't surprise me. Did you pass?" She asked with a smile.

"Yes, I passed! I probably made a C, but I passed. I only remember fluid dynamics. That was cool." Jack said.

"Ah, yeah. Pressure-volume relationship and closed-circuit resistance is probably useful for understanding the human body." She said, "Besides that, physics conditions the mind towards logical thinking and deduction, something I'm sure you do all the time in your work with sick patients." She explained.

"You're so smart." He said and heard her chuckle on her end of the line. He could listen to her talk physics all day. Her voice was soothing to him; he was sure he'd never get tired of it.

"What are you doing right now?" He changed the subject.

"I'm sitting up in bed with my laptop and a cup of tea, working on said lecture." She said, "What about you?"

"I'm sitting on the couch with a beer flipping channels and thinking about you." He said honestly.

She blushed and was glad he couldn't see her. "I've been thinking about you too," She admitted. "I think I've been nervous you won't ask me on a third date."

"That's crazy talk." He said and she laughed. "You're just sad I didn't send you cupcakes again."

She giggled, "Well, now that you mention it…"

"Teal'c says I can't do the same thing twice. Some sort of originality nonsense." He told her.

"Oh, so is he the source of all your romanticism?" She asked him.

"No, the cupcakes were my idea, he just warned me not to do it again after the next date." He told her.

"He's a trainer! He just doesn't want me to get fat!" She suggested humorously.

They both laughed. "I'm on call at the hospital on Friday night, so we'll have to skip a week or try Saturday." He told her, "Can you find a babysitter for Saturday?"

"I can call and ask." She said.

"I didn't know if your parents lived in town and helped you with the kids or if you used a sitter or what." He stated and Sam could hear him moving around, the beer bottle being thrown in the trash.

"No, um, my parents are both dead. My babysitter's name is Cassie, but I've also used a few students I can trust over the years." She said, setting her laptop down on the floor and getting more comfortable on the bed.

"Wow. I'm sorry." He said, genuine.

"It's okay. My mom's been gone a long time; since I was a teenager. My dad passed away when I was working on my doctorate, about 5 years ago." She explained. "He had cancer."

He made a sound of understanding but didn't say anything.

"What?" she asked.

"No, it's just…I'm starting to understand you more. Why you'd be shocked someone wants your attention. Why you blush when I call you beautiful. Why you are…cautious. You've had a lot of loss in your life." He said, tentatively.

"So have you." She said, and shifted on the bed. "Besides, I have a really good therapist." Sam confessed, deadpan. Realizing what she had just revealed, blood rushed to her face and she was suddenly very hot. Wanting to shift the conversation away from herself she asked, "So you work at the hospital as well?"

"Um, yeah. It's sort of required with the clinic I'm at now. We are attached to the hospital in a way, and the five of us doctors, together with others from other practices, take turns being on call in case of any emergencies." He explained. "And I actually enjoy it a lot. At first I was weary of having to work after hours, but this way I get to examine newborn babies that are literally minutes old and care for kids that really need help."

"Wow," it was her turn to say. "That does sound cool."

The conversation flowed comfortably and when Sam looked back toward the clock on her bedside table, more than an hour had passed. "So, I'll let you know if I can get a 'sitter for Saturday." She told him.

"Ok, that would be great. I hope it works out."

Sam waited to see if he was going to say anything else. When he didn't, she said, "I liked this."

"What? The phone call?" He asked and heard her sound of confirmation on the other end. "I liked it too. Maybe I'll call you again this week." He said, "Say Wednesday night?"

Smiling, Sam said, "I'd like that, very much."

"Bye Sam."

"Bye Jack."

Hanging up the line, Jack stood and made his way to his bedroom, Thor close at his heels. "This is good. This is definitely, really good, Buddy." He said to Thor, and went about his nightly routine.

Jack couldn't remember the last time he had held a phone conversation for longer than five minutes. He couldn't remember the last time he spent an evening at home that didn't include complete solitude. His poker buddies were one thing, but this was a woman. And not just any woman, she was quickly becoming something more in his mind. She was shifting from being the mother of his patients; this beautiful female was wrapping herself around Jack in a way he could not comprehend. Her beauty marred by her shyness, her spark for science clouded by some sort of difficult life story. He could only imagine what her marriage must've been like. _That man must have been a complete idiot, _Jack thought to himself. He was sure that if he ever truly held her heart, he would never let her go.


	18. Sassy and Sweet

The buzzing had come from his nightstand, Jack was sure of it. Turning over in his sleep, Jack looked at the clock, 10:37 a.m. "Oy," he said to himself, running a hand over his face. Last night had been a long one at the hospital. Five births and two infants in the ER with high fevers had meant he had only arrived back home at 4:30 a.m. "I'm getting too old for this." He said reaching for his phone to see who had called. Scrolling down he saw it was a text from Sam.

_"I'm so sorry but I'm going to have to cancel tonight."_

Jack's stomach dropped. _This doesn't mean she's cancelling forever._ He said to himself. _Does it? _ They had had another pleasant phone conversation on Wednesday night, getting to know each other more and growing in an easy banter back and forth. He was really starting to get attached to the woman, now why would she cancel?

_"Ok. No problem. I hope everything is ok,"_ he texted back. Getting out of bed, he went to the bathroom and used the toilet. Flushing, he heard the buzzing again.

_"Yeah, everything is fine. I'm just feeling a bit under the weather."_ She had texted.

Concerned, he wrote back immediately, _"With what? Can I help?"_ He was a doctor after all.

He waited a few minutes, but no reply came. He got up and brushed his teeth, bringing the phone with him. As he was rinsing the phone buzzed.

_"I'm sure it's just a cold. Thanks for the offer,"_ she wrote.

_"Ok. I hope you feel better."_ He texted, ending their text thread.

A few hours later Jack had picked up a few things at the grocery store and sat in his truck outside of Sam's house. He knew she didn't want him involved with her daughters yet, and this might be crossing a few lines, but he just felt like he needed to do something nice. It was past 2 o'clock, and thanks to their weeknight phone conversations he knew the twins napped at this time, so maybe she would be okay with the surprise visit.

_"Are the twins sleeping?" _he texted her.

It was several minutes later, but he received a reply. _"Yes, why?"_

_"I may have brought you some soup," _he texted.

Another several minutes. _"Where are you?"_

_"In my truck in front of your house, but I can leave if you prefer. No hard feelings," _he texted, really hoping he wasn't going backwards on the progress they were making in the relationship.

Less than a minute later he saw the door open and Sam peek out. She waved her hand at him, gesturing for him to come in. He hopped out of the car immediately and opened the back door of his cab to get to his things. Walking up to the door, he noticed she was wearing a heavy maroon robe over what looked like pale blue pajamas. Her hair was messy and her face blotchy. _Gosh, she really does have a cold._

"Hi," he said, "I'm sorry to surprise you like this."

She really didn't say anything, just hugged the robe tighter around herself and closed the door once he was inside. He now could notice she was wearing silver house shoes that seemed to shimmer as she walked. The house looked dark, the venetian blinds closed, and a green square bin holding tiny girl shoes sat tipped over by the wall in the foyer, pink and purple shoes spilling from inside. When he met her eyes again, she was looking at the flowers in his hands.

"Are those for me?" She asked him in a scratchy voice.

"Yes!" He said, "And I actually did bring you soup…and chocolate!" He held the bag up and gave her the flowers.

"Thank you." She said, with little enthusiasm, and shuffled towards what Jack could only guess was her kitchen.

There were dirty dishes in the sink and tissues everywhere. She bent down under the sink and retrieved a glass vase. Filling it halfway with water, she plopped the bouquet of Gerber daisies in it without unwrapping them, and then made her way back out of the kitchen.

Not knowing what else to do, Jack followed her. She seemed totally out of it. She made her way towards the living room, and Jack noticed the TV was on, the volume low, and the couch was covered in blankets, a pillow on one side, tissues littered the coffee table and floor near her pillow. The living room floor was littered with children's toys, like she hadn't had the energy to pick up or demand that the twins do so. She sat on the couch and covered her lower body with the blanket. Looking up at him she seemed startled, like she had forgotten he was at her house, and said "Oh, I'm sorry." She made minimal movements with her hands, "This place is a mess. I meant to tell you that I can't go out tonight." She laid her head down on the pillow. "I was supposed to text you."

Ok, now Jack really was concerned. Putting the bag of groceries on the nearest piece of furniture, Jack crouched down next to her, "You did text me." He said, feeling her forehead. She was very hot. "Sam, you have a fever." He told her and she stared at him.

"I have a cold." She told him, getting further wrapped in the blankets.

"Have you taken any medicine?" He asked her and she nodded, pointing at the bottle of Tylenol on the coffee table. "When?" He asked

"Right after breakfast. It says every 6 hours." She explained to him, blowing her nose on a tissue she pulled out of her robe pocket.

"If you ate breakfast with the girls that was way longer than 6 hours ago." He said to her but she seemed not to understand him. "I'm going to get something from my truck, ok?"

He didn't wait for her to acknowledge his decision, and was quick to retrieve his emergency doctor's bag. Coming back towards her he was surprised to see her fast asleep. Getting out what he needed from his bag, he nudged her. "Sam," he spoke softly. "Sam, I need to take your temperature." She opened her eyes and looked up at him.

"Are you gonna be my doctor now?" She said, drunk-like, wiping a sleeve over her forehead.

"Is that ok? You don't look so good. Put this under your tongue." He said, sticking the thermometer in her mouth. While she did that he got his pressure cuff out and took her blood pressure. The thermometer beeped around her parched lips.

"Sam, you have a fever of 103.7!" He told her, exasperated.

She stared back at him and said, "I never, ever, ever get sick." Then started to cough, which really didn't do much to support her claim.

"Well, you are sick now." He said, getting his stethoscope out of his bag with a huff.

"Oh!" She said when he tried pulling her into a sitting position, "I'm fine!" But the 'fine' ended with a 'd' and again her point was moot.

He snuck the chest piece of the stethoscope down the front of her robe and pressed gently to try and listen. "Just breathe deeply for me."

SSSSSSSS

He was really close to her now and had his hand very close to her chest. He had asked her to breathe deeply but, really, who could breathe at all when a man this handsome was inches from her? She tried to be obedient and take a deep breath but ended up hacking and couching instead. Right in his face. _Damn._

"I'm sorry." She said, looking pitiful and feeling worse.

"It's alright," he said, his hand landing on her knee and patting it twice. Sam shuddered. What was this man doing to her? "Your cough sounds wet and I think some of it has settled in the upper part of your lungs."

Sam stared at his face. He had a day's worth of stubble, like he hadn't shaved this morning, and she couldn't help but take a very large swallow. Maybe the cold was making her salivate more. _But, oh, if I could just run my hands over that stubble…_

"Can I listen to your back?" He broke her train of thought.

_You can listen to my back all day long. _

"Sam?" Jack again.

"Huh?" He sat next to her and pointed to her back. "Oh, okay." She opened her robe a bit and pulled one arm out slightly so he could pull the robe down on the back and use his chest piece freely. She heard another "Deep breath please," and then he pulled the robe back on her with his own hands, in a tender sort of way, and even pulled her robe ties together, before bending towards the coffee table to put his stethoscope back in the bag. He looked back at her.

"Your chest doesn't sound good at all, Sam. And I don't like how high your fever is." He took two more Tylenol out of the bottle and handed it to her, then handed her the water bottle he saw on the table. She took both, suddenly feeling nauseous, all thoughts of his jawline forgotten.

"Ohhhh." She said, rubbing her face. "Can I lie down now?" And before he could answer she did.

She opened her eyes one last time and he was right in front of her, "Which pharmacy do you go to?" He asked her. Once she answered him, he said, "I'm going to run and get you a prescription. You just lie down here, ok?"

She nodded and closed her eyes.

SSSSSSSS

When he arrived back at the house, he knocked, but receiving no answer he let himself in. It had only taken twenty minutes at the pharmacy. It turned out that Syler was the pharmacist working today, and he and Jack played poker together once a month with the guys. Showing off his new broken leg, Syler had gotten him what he needed in no time; the guy was always injured.

Stepping up to the couch, he saw Sam asleep. She had kicked off the covers and was lying on her back, her robe partially opened. _Her fever must have broken. _ Still, she was modestly covered in her blue pajama pants and matching top. From the entryway he tried calling her name, but she didn't move. Coming directly in front of the couch, he touched her shoulder lightly and tried again. She stirred immediately and opened her eyes.

"Jack?" She asked in a raspy voice, her brows furrowed.

"Yeah, do you remember me being here a while ago?" He asked her.

She put her head back down on the pillow and rubbed her eyes with her hands. "Was that today?"

He ignored her and spoke, "I brought you a prescription. It will make the fevers go away."

"Thanks" she said, trying to sit up but failing.

"Have you eaten anything today?" He asked her, helping her to sit.

"I had toast for breakfast." She said, rubbing her eyes again.

"Sam, it's almost 3 in the afternoon!" He looked at her. When all she did was rest her head on her hand and close her eyes again, he continued, "Okay. I brought you a low dose Rocephin injection. It's a bit painful but it's the quickest way to get rid of what you have."

"And what do I have?" She asked, her eyes still closed, her voice flat.

"I think you have a bad upper respiratory infection. It probably was just a cold, but now it's worse. Some bacteria has settled in your – "

"Okay, okay, give me the damn shot!" She interrupted him, pulling the sleeve up on her right arm, trying to give him a good patch of the muscle in her upper arm.

He looked at her arm, then back at her, "Um," He tried, then his lips thinned into a line.

"Oh, don't even think you're gonna get a shot at my ass, mister!" She said, pulling her sleeve back down.

"Your upper hip will do just fine!" He said, laughing slightly. "You're quite feisty when you're sick." He said, getting the syringe out and prepping it. "It's just that the shot is painful, and if I do your arm, then you're kind of useless there for a few days."

"And I won't be useless with a shot at my hip?" She questioned him. "I'll have you know my hip –"

"Don't even finish that sentence, Miss Sass!" He said, and got the alcohol swab out of its tiny package.

She huffed and turned away from him somewhat, lifting the edge of her shirt up slightly, revealing a pale patch of skin. Jack's mouth watered immediately at the sight of her, and he worked to school his features and his reaction. "Are you ready?"

"Yes." She said, unsure.

He wiped at the most plump part of the hip she had exposed, though all of what he could see was firm and pale and…oh, my god, was it soft. He saw goose bumps appear on her skin and wondered what she was thinking. "Take a deep breath," he said, and then "blow it out." When he heard her blowing out her air, he plunged the needle in her hip and injected the medicine. She immediately flinched and tensed up.

"Holy Hannah!" She yelled out, moving her hand towards the back of the couch for support. "Oh, my god!"

"Yeah, I know" He said.

"Aoew! That wasn't painful, it was – oh, god... it was really, really bad." She swayed a bit. "What did I ever do to you?" She said.

"I'm sorry." He said concerned. "That spot will be sore for a week, but your infection will go away. No bronchitis or pneumonia or worse."

She snorted and then grimaced. "Well, at least that."

She looked at him again and without losing his gaze reached for his hand and said, "Thank you. For coming here. For the flowers. For the soup. For the shot of death."

He laughed out loud and she joined him.

Moments later, when the laughing stopped, they both turned their heads to the sound of pitter patter down the hallway. Two little heads were staring right back at them, a princess crown upon each head.

**Author's Note: This chapter was beta'ed by SAMnJACK ALWAYS.**


	19. Cassandra Fraiser

When the girls had come into the living room, Jack had looked at Sam and offered to leave, but she had grabbed his hand, in plain sight of the girls, and asked him to stay. He had stayed, relieved that he would be able to watch over her a while longer, while at the same time be around her children.

He heated the soup for Sam, while Emma chatted about her princess dresses and her ability to twirl and bow. He played along with the girls, letting them use his real Doctor's kit to give their teddy bears check-ups. He read them books from a bag Sam totted to and from the local library, and helped them put dresses on all their Barbie dolls.

Emma had brought out their bin of Barbies and Jack acted shocked that all the dolls were naked. "We have _got_ to put clothes on these ladies!" He said with a stunned expression. He had covered his eyes and demanded that clothes be brought out. The girls giggled and went in search for the correct bin. Sam had all of their toys organized in clear plastic bins. When Jack commented on that, Sophie explained that "Mommy says it's so everything stays together." Jack could see the benefit of the system. "We aren't allowed to get a new bin out till the old one is put up," Sophie added with a pout.

Sam sat quietly on the couch and enjoyed the scene, eating the soup he had brought for her, and feeling warmer by the minute, even as her body was weak and nauseated. The girls never asked why their doctor was here, in their house, and Sam thought it better that she not bring up an explanation unless the girls asked outright. There would be time for that, if the relationship went further. And, boy, did she want it to go further.

Later, he had sent her to take a shower and a nap, and Sam accepted with some reluctance. It was 5:45 p.m. exactly when Jack heard a faint knock on the door. Looking between the girls sitting at the kitchen table, he said, "Who could that be?"

Emma shrugged her shoulders and Sophie blurted out with arms held high in excitement, "Maybe it's more cupcakes!"

Jack laughed. "You guys stay here; I'll go check it out."

Opening the front door he was confronted with a teenage girl, dirty blond hair falling in loose curls around her shoulders, and a confused expression on her face.

"Can I help you?" Jack said.

"You must be mystery-hunk, doctor-man," the girl spoke, coolly, pushing past him and going straight for the kitchen.

"Okay, that was weird," Jack said, closing the door and following her.

"Cassie!" The girls both squealed.

"Pizza!" Cassie squealed back.

"Oh, you're the babysitter!" Jack said, the pieces coming together.

"Yeah, where's Sam?" Cassie looked around, "Is she still getting ready?"

Jack looked confused. "Oh. I think she probably forgot to call you," he explained, "we had to cancel tonight, she's very sick."

"Oh!" Cassie said. "Well, a head's up would've been nice!"

"I'm sorry she probably forgot. She's really quite out of it," he added.

"Ok, well… I guess I'll go," Cassie said awkwardly, never having seen this man here.

"No, wait," Jack called out, stopping her. "Maybe you could stay after all." She looked back at him expecting an explanation.

"Well, she's sleeping. She's had a high fever and had a really painful shot earlier that might knock her out for several hours. Could you stay and play with the girls, put them to bed, you know, that sort of thing?"

"The sort of thing I do when I'm babysitting?" Cassie said sarcastically.

"Yeah, that's right," Jack said. "How much does she pay you?" He asked her seriously.

"Ten an hour," Cassie answered, sitting between the girls and reaching for a slice of pizza. They both dove into her lap for a hug.

Jack took out his wallet and looked inside. Taking out a wad of cash, he looked up at the teenage girl, wondering what Sam would think of him making this quick arrangement with her sitter.

"Yeah, she's not gonna like it if you pay me," Cassie said, reading his mind. "Just secretly put the money in her babysitting envelope. Top drawer on her desk, there," Cassie suggested, pointing to the small counter-like desk in the corner of the kitchen.

Jack walked over and tentatively opened the drawer. Inside were receipts, bank notes, and small business cards, but in a stack towards the left were small cash envelopes, the top one was labeled "Babysitting."

"It's probably almost empty, what with all the dates she's been going on with you." He heard Cassie say in between huge bites of pizza. "I used to only get to babysit when she and mom went out."

He picked up the envelope and looked inside. Sure enough, there was a 5 dollar bill and three 1 dollar bills. _Almost empty_, he said to himself. With his finger, he leafed through the dozen other envelopes in the drawer, reading some of the headings: "House maintenance," "Girls Christmas," and "Clothing." The last envelope caught his eye, "Sam's new laptop." He suddenly remembered their conversation at the restaurant, him suggesting he could be a con artist, and her jokingly saying she had no money. He wondered now how she made ends meet, with two small children and only a part-time job. _Ok, so she struggles, _Jack concluded, thinking he didn't know anyone who still used the cash envelope system anymore. _Or maybe she's just very diligent and thrifty_. Debit and credit ruled the day now, right?

Stealing a look at Cassie and seeing she was busy talking to the twins, he looked inside the laptop envelope. There were 2 one hundred dollar bills and 3 tens. _It's gonna take her forever for this._ Putting everything back, he decided not to mess with anything in the drawer. Pulling out a notepad he saw on the desk, he wrote:

_Sam,_

_Cassie showed up and I asked her to stay and put the girls to bed. I hope you feel better. I'll call you tomorrow._

_Jack_

_p.s. I'm leaving you some 'sitter money. _

He put the wad of cash under the note and left it on the desk. Looking straight at Cassie, he said, "Don't tell her about the drawer."

"Yeah, like I'd be stupid enough to do that," Cassie said on a snort.

Jack looked up at her and smiled. "I like you." And saying goodbye to the twins, he left Sam's house.

**A/N: Thank you all for the lovely reviews. And thank you SAMnJACK ALWAYS for the beta.**


	20. Making Out the Future

"So you like him?" Janet asked, turning the page of her notebook and getting more comfortable on the chair.

"Yeah. A lot," Sam said, on an exhale. "It's nice to have someone to talk to, someone who calls me and texts me and wants to hear about my day. It's nice to have someone to think about _during_ the day." Sam chewed on her bottom lip. "So, yes, I like him."

"Do you love him?" Janet prodded.

Sam tilted her head to the side, "Um, no. I don't think so. Not yet. It's more like affection. Caring. I care about him. That sounds so ambiguous, but I feel like using the word love, at this point, is wrong. I mean, we've been on six dates and have had dozens of phone conversations, but it's only been a few months."

Janet nodded, agreeing. "Okay. Then describe what feels right."

Sam started speaking almost immediately, "he feels right. What we're doing feels right. Like if he wasn't there I'd miss him."

"_Do_ you miss him?" Janet asked.

"What, like right now?"

"No, not like right now. I mean when you haven't talked, when you haven't seen him, do you think of him? Wish you could see him, miss him?" Janet explained.

She swallowed but didn't answer, staring at the bookshelf across the room.

"Tell me," Janet insisted.

"Yes," she said meekly.

Janet didn't miss a beat. "But there's more."

"Yes," Sam acknowledged.

"When you think about him you don't just miss him. There's more," Janet clarified.

"Yes," Sam said.

"And what is it?" Janet asked.

Silence.

"Sam?"

"I haven't told him," Sam said, frustrated.

"You haven't told him," Janet repeated.

"No."

"About Jonas?" Janet asked.

"Yes," Sam answered.

It was Janet's turn to exhale loudly. "Look, if you want to pay me hourly to listen to your yes and no answers, fine, but you have to – "

"I'm afraid once I tell him about Jonas that he won't want me," Sam interrupted her.

"Okay. What else?"

"What else what?" Sam said exasperated, turning to face her.

"What else are you afraid of?" Janet braved.

"I just told you! Of telling him! Of telling him everything! Of telling him all the gory details of how I became a complete coward under that man. Of telling him how it really ended. Of him not wanting me," Sam said, her voice now very loud.

"Okay," Janet said calmly.

"Okay!" Sam exclaimed, red faced.

"Sam, calm down," Janet begged her.

Taking a deep breath and sitting back into the large back of her chair, Sam said, "I know, I'm sorry."

"This is a big issue. It's something we've been talking about for 9 months. But it's not the end of the world. You are capable of talking to him. Of telling him everything."

Sam sighed. "Janet, just work your psychologist magic and tell me what to do."

"I am working my psychologist magic and telling you what to do. You need to talk. Communicate. Open up." Janet said, waving her arms. "But only if you feel ready."

Sam stared at her, unconvinced. Putting both index fingers on her temple, she closed her eyes. "Please tell me how to do that."

"Ok. Let's take a break," Janet suggested, snapping her notebook shut.

"Fine," Sam said, reaching for the water bottle in her purse on the floor.

"What did you do yesterday?" Janet asked.

Sam sighed. Why did taking a break not mean anything in Janet's office? "I went to work," She replied curtly, still with a bite to her tone.

"And after work?" Janet asked, unfazed.

"I picked up the girls and went to the gym. Then we had dinner at home and Jack and I went to the movies," She said, matter-of-fact.

"Oh. What about the girls?" Janet asked.

Sam put the cap back on her water bottle and held it in her hand. "One of my students came over. One I trust. You know I wouldn't call Cass on a school night," she said looking up at Janet.

"Yes, I know that. I don't have a problem with you using other babysitters, even on weekends, you know that. Now, tell me about your evening."

"Okay." She put the bottle back on the floor and adjusted herself on the chair. "He had called me the day before asking if I wanted to go to the movies. I was surprised."

"Why?"

"Huh? Well, I guess because I haven't been to the movies in over 3 years and I forgot people my age still went to the movies. I told him I thought people only went to the movies to make out in the dark," Sam said, a grin on her face.

"Did you?" Janet asked, with a smirk of her own.

"Did I what?" Sam asked, confused.

"Make out in the dark?" Janet clarified.

Pursing her lips, Sam answered, "Yes. A little."

"Okay," Janet said smiling, "what else happened?"

"We held hands, in the dark, after we were done making out. Well, that's not really true. We _had_ to be done making out because some old lady in the row in front of us kept turning and making reproachful noises." Sam told her, a twinkle in her eye.

"How did that make you feel?" Janet asked.

"Being caught by the old lady?"

"No. Making out. The actual act. Kissing. Being held. How did that make you feel?" Janet asked.

Sam thought for a moment. "Well, you know…the normal physical stuff. I mean I, uh, I reacted to him. I liked it. I wanted him."

"And what about him?" Janet asked.

"Oh, he wanted me too," Sam replied immediately, the tone of her voice telling all.

Janet chuckled. "Okay. And how does that make you feel?"

"Pretty good," Sam said, sporting a huge smile.

"Yeah, I'll bet," Janet quipped.

"Oh, shut up," Sam said, swatting at Janet's knee. She was quiet for a moment, thinking back at the way he had held her hand afterwards, stroking hers tenderly, pulling back his heavy hand and then running his fingertips over the skin of her palm and giving her the tantalizing feeling of skin on skin that became almost like agony until he would slide his whole hand down again, and they would be palm to palm for a while, their fingers interdigitated, until he began his assault with his fingertips anew, the whole act incredibly distracting.

"I have no idea what movie we watched. His whole presence was intoxicating. I couldn't catch my breath through the whole thing." She exhaled and looked down. "Either he's playing with my feelings or he's doing a damn good job of making me fall in love with him."

"Do you think he's just playing with your feelings?" Janet asked.

"No. Not at all. He's nothing but a gentleman. Always. The way he talks to me, always with respect and sincerity. Opens doors, pays for everything, calls me beautiful. He's never once made an aggressive physical move on me. I was the one who initiated the movie kiss. I mean, he responded and totally took over but he's very..." she thought for a moment. "He's considerate."

Janet was quiet for a moment and Sam spoke again, "He's taking his time with me. He doesn't rush things, he doesn't rush _me_. He's interested in me. Like sometimes, I feel like he'd listen to me talk about astrophysics just to hear my voice." She looked down, and took her feet out of her heels, stretching them. She sighed, "I really like him, Janet."

"Okay. Do you think that a person who is 'considerate' and has the qualities that you just described would judge you because of your past?"

Sam thought for a moment. "I don't know."

"Sam," Janet warned, a note of reproach in her voice.

"God, you're right. I need to talk to him." Sam said, putting her hands back up to her temple.

"Yes, you do."

"Janet, I don't know how to start that conversation. I mean, do I just dive into 'hey, I need to tell you all about Jonas or what?" Sam said, standing up, then sitting right back down having tucked her legs under herself.

"You just tell him, Sam. I'm not sure how your relationship goes when you two are together. You can work it into a conversation that is already happening or it is perfectly ok to schedule a time where you two meet to talk about more serious things. Sometimes you need to let people into your past so that they can be a part of your life in the present. I think Jack sounds like the kind of guy that would welcome that," Janet said.

Janet saw Sam close her eyes upon hearing her last remark. She saw Sam's stress on her facial features, the worry and fatigue she carried from her role as both mother and father to two active children, her stiff posture wrought from a past filled with pain and loss. But as she sat and considered Janet's words, a slight glimmer of hope appeared too, in the way her head tilted slightly to the side, her eyebrows rising in turn, and Janet heard her say, "I really like the idea of him being a part of my future."

Janet just nodded, not wanting to interrupt anything else that might come out of Sam's mouth. But Sam was pensive, her breathing even, and Janet knew she was miles away, exactly where she should be, planning her future. After about five minutes, Janet said, "Is there anything else today?"

Sam turned towards Janet, startled out of her thoughts, "huh?"

"Sam. You've just crossed a huge line. As your counselor, I want you to know that whether or not this relationship with Jack pans out, that this experience is good for you. Living life is good for you."

Sam snorted. "You figured all that just because a man kissed me at the theater?"

"No. I figured all that because for the first time in 9 months I've heard you talk about a future. Your future."

And with that, the clock dinged.

**Author's Note: As always, I appreciate your feedback. Thanks to SAMnJACK ALWAYS for the beta and the clever chapter title!**


	21. Canadian Thanksgiving

He stood at her front door holding a packet of bread in one hand and his car keys in the other. Jack was nervous as hell. Not only was he about to meet her best friends, he was getting to spend more quality time with the twins. While both were exciting, he was definitely falling in love with the girls, _all _of the girls. He didn't know why that made him nervous, but it did, and he was keenly aware that while his feelings for the beautiful trio would only grow, there were definitely things he still needed to learn about them. He wasn't quite sure what to expect from her friends, but she had insisted on inviting Teal'c, so at least he would have him around to witness any catastrophic happenings. Sam opened the door and let him in.

"Hey," she said sweetly, taking the package of rolls from him, "thanks for coming, and for bringing the bread." She put the bread on the entryway table.

He kissed her cheek. "No problem." He saw how her eyes closed ever so slightly at his touch. "Now tell me, why exactly are we having Thanksgiving dinner in October?"

Sam laughed and looked up at him, "For Cassie." She took the liberty of reaching for his collar and starting to pull his jacket off. "She's adopted from Toronto. She was ten when Janet adopted her." The jacket came off completely and Sam hung it up in the tiny closet near her front door.

"And she has a thing for Canadian turkey?" Jack asked jokingly.

Sam laughed again. "No. The older she's gotten the more attitude she gets. A couple of years ago she thought it was insensitive that we only celebrated American Thanksgiving. And Janet figures this way we get to eat more pie anyway."

"Sounds good to me!" Jack said, smiling at Sam.

She smiled back. "Are you ready?" She pointed her thumb towards the rest of the house, and he knew she meant if he was ready to be introduced to more of her life.

"Let's do it!" He said, grabbing her hand.

sssssssssssssss

Sam led the way into the kitchen where Janet was whipping potatoes in the electric mixer and Daniel sat on a stool by the island supposedly chopping vegetables for the salad. They were in some kind of weird discussion about which brand of antihistamine worked best. When the new pair entered, they both stopped talking and looked up, taking all of Jack O'Neill in.

"Guys, this is Dr. Jack O'Neill." Sam said proudly, standing a bit further from him now, and looking at her friends, gaging their reactions.

For some reason they were both silent and Sam looked back at Jack who was silent also. Sam grew more uncomfortable and said, "Jack, this is Dr. Daniel Jackson and Dr. Janet Fraiser."

Daniel, as always, was the first to snap out of it. "Hi, I'm Daniel," he said, extending his right hand.

"Nice to meet you," Jack said sharply, shaking the man's hand.

"It's just Janet," Janet said, wiping her hands on her apron before shaking Jack's.

"Yeah, hi," Jack said, "so you're all doctors!"

"Well, actually, I guess _we're_ all doctors. You can't make fun of us 'cause you're one too," Daniel said, ever the diplomat.

"My! Aren't we an educated bunch!" Jack said, slapping his hands together nervously.

"Is your friend Murray a doctor too?" Asked Janet, scraping potatoes off the sides of the bowl.

"No. He's a personal trainer. Works at the gym," Jack said, hoping they wouldn't exclude Teal'c from their little Canadian shindig.

"Thank God for that!" Daniel exclaimed, "We need a normal human being to join our group."

"Well," Jack said on a shrug, "I wouldn't exactly classify T as a _normal_ human being, but you'll like him, he's been my best friend for years."

Suddenly there was a flurry of pink tulle and Jack was overrun by little giggling girls. "Hi, Dr. Jack!" Said Emma cheerfully, "Do you want to come to my tea party?"

Sophie jumped up and down causing her tulle skirt to bounce with her, "I made strawberry pie!"

"Strawberry pie! Sophie, how did you know that is my favorite pie?" Jack said taking one girl in each hand and walking out of the kitchen, headed straight for a very important tea party.

Sam was about to ask what they thought of him when she heard the doorbell again. "Okay, that'll be Teal'c."

"Teal'c?" Asked Daniel, "I thought you said his name was Murray?"

"Yeah, Teal'c is his last name. He's from West Africa. Something about the Chulakian mountains. Jack calls him T for short." And with that explanation she went for the door. Returning shortly after, she introduced him, "Guys, this is T!"

"Daniel Jackson." Daniel immediately put his hand out and Teal'c shook it.

"How's it going," Teal'c greeted him.

"I'm Janet," she said from near the stove, adding salt and mixing the potatoes.

Sophie came running into the kitchen frantically looking for Sam. "Mommy! Dr. Jack needs to teach you how to make airplanes! He does it with paper! Mommy, quick!" Grabbing Sam's hand, she dragged her away from the group.

The three of them smiled at the little girl and Daniel wasted no time. "So, Sam just told me. You are actually from the region of Chulak? Near the mountains?"

Teal'c nodded slightly and put the jar of cranberry sauce on the counter. "What a rare thing it is for someone to know of the Chulakian mountains. I have not been there in many years. I'm very Americanized now, but my roots are indeed from Chulak."

"That's amazing!" Daniel said dropping the knife and forgetting the vegetables. "I'm an archeologist. And anthropology kinda comes with the territory. I've studied your culture extensively! The Greek-like structures of Chulak are baffling to the archaeology world!"

"Ah yeah. You're talking about Cronus!" Teal'c sat on a chair at the kitchen table and seeing a pitcher of what looked like ice tea, poured himself a glass.

"Oh, my god, yes! Historians have no idea who that is yet mention of him is found in so many of your ruins," Daniel said, rubbing his jaw.

Janet rolled her eyes, "well, it looks like you just made a new best friend, T."

Teal'c nodded at Janet, and then looked back at Daniel.

"He was probably Greek. Legend has it that Cronus enslaved my people by pretending to be a god. A massive rebellion freed the people from his oppressive rule and now my brethren are free." Teal'c explained, taking a large drink and setting the glass down.

Daniel came to the table and had a seat. "Wow. Sorry, I'm not freaking you out, am I?"

"Nah, Sam warned me about you." Teal'c said, with a slight quirk of his lips.

Ssssssssss

The day had gone remarkably well. The food had been plentiful and delicious; the girls had been sweet and subdued, with so many adults around to entertain them. Daniel had taken an immediate liking to Teal'c, and the pair talked for most of the evening, while Jack had sat next to Janet during dinner, and the two had conversed amiably about the highs and lows of being a medical professional. Sam was practically glowing, a picture of contentment, seeing all the pieces of her life mesh together in a lovely holiday scene.

The kids were now snuggled in bed. Cassie had eaten her pie and left hours before, claiming that she and Dominique were headed to the movies. Janet and Daniel were in the living room, putting Sam's mother's china back into the china cabinet, and talking softly to each other. The dining room was adjacent to the kitchen and the pair had a great view through the door into the kitchen where Sam and Jack were washing the last of the dishes in the sink, side by side.

"Be careful!" Janet said harshly, "If you break any of those Sam will kill me."

Daniel rolled his eyes, "If _I_ break any of them, she'll be killing _me,_ not you."

They both looked back into the kitchen when they heard a giggle. Jack nudged Sam with his elbow and she nudged him back with her hip. Daniel and Janet were silent, watching, spying on their friend. They told themselves they were just making sure she was ok. There was more talking between the pair and plenty of laugher, until Sam took some soap spuds and plopped them on Jack's forehead. The bubbles slid down his face until they were near his mouth and he blew them right onto Sam, who giggled.

"What do you think of him, Janet?" Daniel said, turning his attention back to the china cabinet.

"I like him. You?" Janet asked.

"Yeah. I do too," Daniel agreed, "I mean, I just met him, but you gotta notice he's very interested in Sam."

"Yeah. She seems happy. I think she was really nervous about us meeting him." Janet remarked.

Daniel nodded, "well, our approval is important to her. Sam doesn't have a huge support system," he said, "we're pretty much it."

When they turned back to look, Jack's back was all they could see, except for Sam's right hand which was encircling his neck. Her left one could be seen grasping his shoulder, and by the way Jack's head was tilted downwards and how his arms snaked around her middle, there really was no doubt as to what exactly was happening.

"Yep, she _definitely _likes him," Daniel stated the obvious.

Smiling, Janet nudged him, "come on, let's go."

They left the rest of the fine china sitting on the dining room table, and let the front door close behind them.

**Author's note: If you're interested in the timeline…the first date happened at the end of August. This chapter occurs in Mid-October, so they've been dating for few months now.**

**This chapter was beta-ed by SAMnJACK ALWAYS. Thank you, friend.**


	22. All the Hard Stuff

When Sam and Jack had made their way out of the kitchen, both flushed and grinning, the house had been eerily quiet. Making her rounds around the house, Sam confirmed that her friends had indeed snuck out, probably upon seeing her intimately entwined with Jack. Sam went to check on the girls, and Jack went into the living area. Coming back into the living room, she spotted him slumped on the floor, his back supported by the couch. She smiled and came towards him, sliding down onto the floor next to him, their backs resting on the couch and their shoulders touching. Jack reached out and took her hand in his.

"I want to talk about the hard stuff," she broke the silence.

Jack's head snapped up but he tried to school his expressions and not reveal how utterly happy he was to hear her say that. He nodded slowly and said, "Okay."

"I'm not sure where to start," she said, blowing out her breath.

"That's ok. There's no rush. I'm not going anywhere," he said, taking her hand and transferring it to his left one, then using his right one to stroke the back of her hand.

There was a minute of silence, and Jack continued to stroke her hand, while Sam bit her bottom lip.

"The girls were an accident," she blurted out.

"That's a place to start," he said looking at her, "you mean they weren't planned?"

She let out a half chuckle, then continued, "Yeah, that's a much better way of putting it, thanks."

He looked at her and she suddenly decided that the beginning was a good place to start.

"I met Jonas at the Academy one day. He was doing something there and I was leaving my interview with the head of the physics department. I had just finished my doctorate and I wanted to teach. Well, that's not really true, I wanted to be near the center of astrophysics research, my true dream was to go all the way up, work for NASA, and go to space, _if_ they ever go back."

"Wow," he said, moving a stray hair that had fallen on her face.

"I figured teaching at the Air Force Academy was a good start, would get me connected to the right people. I already had a name people recognized, so I thought it would work. Did I ever tell you my dad was a General?" She stated, tilting her head. "General Carter."

"No, you didn't. And although I would've loved to have met him, even the thought of it now sounds intimidating," Jack said.

"Yeah. He was a pill. Very rigid military type. Mom softened him up, but when she died he was…well, it was an interesting place to grow up," she said, "I loved him, but we were never that close."

He kept looking at her, lost in her eyes, and she continued, "NASA was _his _dream; his dream for me anyway. I was trying to please him any way I could."

"And you met Jonas?" He prompted.

"Right," she sighed, "he was a Captain and anyway, he was doing something there that day, and we bumped into each other in the hallway. We talked, he took me to lunch that day, and by that evening we were in bed together," she finished, lowering her head and averting her eyes, clearly embarrassed.

"Sam," he tried.

"He liked control," she declared.

"What did you see in him?" Jack asked.

"I don't know. I've always had a soft spot for the lunatic fringe," she shrugged.

"Sam – "

"He was charming and handsome, and I was a geek and lonely and had just spent 3 years doing nothing but studying, and researching, and typing, and he – "

"He seduced you," Jack interrupted.

She looked at him and shook her head. "No, I'm not innocent, Jack. I wanted it," she confessed on a whisper. "Anyway, I got the job and he got stationed at NORAD and we started dating. We both worked a lot so there wasn't a whole lot of getting to know each other."

He stayed silent and just kept looking at her, nodding, assuring her he was listening.

"We were never really friends. It was, um, it was mostly physical. We spent most of our time together in bed." This time she didn't look down, but looked right at him, her face full of regret and shame. "I don't want you to think I'm a slut, but I thought you needed to know-"

"I don't think that of you," he corrected her, "I never did. I don't now."

She closed her eyes and nodded. And he prompted her, "and you got pregnant."

"Yes. About six months after we started, well, um, sleeping together. I was on birth control, but well, anyway…" She trailed off.

"You still got pregnant. I see it all the time. A lot of people conceive while on birth control," he told her.

"Yeah, I guess. Jonas wasn't thrilled; it didn't really go with his career plan at the time. But nonetheless he thought it would be better if we got married. Now that I think of it, I'm sure his mother threatened him," she explained, deflated.

"Dad was already dead but Mark wanted to kill Jonas, so I agreed to marry him. I knew it wouldn't work. We didn't really know each other, but I thought I could make it work, I thought I loved him," she added.

"Who is Mark?" Jack asked.

"Oh. He's my older brother. He lives in California," she said, and he nodded, "he has two kids and the girls just love their cousins. And I actually get along well with my sister-in-law, which is great. We're spending Christmas there."

"That's nice," he commented, "tell me more."

"We got married at the justice of the peace. I was three months along, but I was starting to show and I didn't want a big deal. Mark came down with Karen, his wife. It was not what I would have thought of my wedding day, but it's what life handed me at the time." Jack nodded, imagining Sam as a pregnant bride, and his mind wandered to her dead mother.

"The marriage was ok at the beginning; he was nice and tried to help with whatever I needed with the pregnancy. We were both still working so not much had changed, except for the rings. We still saw little of each other." She paused and took a deep breath. "Then I went in for my 20-week ultrasound."

"And it was twins," he stated the obvious.

"Yeah. He had come with me. It was horrible. He made the technician get her supervisor because he didn't believe she was reading the screen correctly. But you could see it as clear as day. Two distinct babies, two very loud and very fast heartbeats. It was a shock for me too, but I was happy."

Jack touched her cheek tenderly.

"He never wanted them. He was in complete denial after that. That's when things started sliding down the slope. He made demands on me, wanted me to be a certain way, convinced me to do things he wanted, cut my hair, sell my motorcycle, things like that. He spent our money recklessly, wouldn't come home a lot of nights. He wasn't even there the day they were born."

"I'm sorry, Sam," Jack said tenderly.

"My water broke when I was at home. I knew the girls were both in the breech position from the previous week's ultrasound, so I knew I had to get to the hospital right away," she exhaled, "I wrapped myself in a towel and called a cab. They were born an hour later."

"When he came to the hospital to see them, things changed a bit which was good. He fell in love with them right away. You really couldn't help it. They were so small, and so beautiful, and so completely dependent on us. They had dark brown hair when they were born, darker than it is now. Looked just like Jonas' hair." She smiled thinking back to the girls little faces.

"They were in the NICU for 3 days - some glucose nonsense - and Jonas stayed there with them a lot. I was recovering from the cesarean and I really thought he was going to embrace the family life, that he was going to change."

"The first four months were a blur. I never slept. Jonas helped a bit but he had to work so we could make ends meet. We had decided, well, he had decided that it would be better if I quit my job and stayed home with the girls for the first year. Neither of us really wanted any more children so I figured since these two are the only ones I'll ever have it would be ok to devote a whole year to them while they were young, then I could permanently go back to work. I was so naïve. And they were so much work. Jonas kept spending money. We fought all the time but he would lie to me and didn't really come home all that often. I breastfed them every two hours for the first 6 months because we couldn't afford formula."

Jack gaped at her. "My god, Sam! The Air Force didn't help?"

She shrugged, "I don't really know how much Jonas told people. I was very sleep-deprived and never left the house. The girls required constant care, as you know, and I was alone. I had this other account, with some money dad had left, but I didn't want to touch it so he wouldn't find out about it and zero it out. It wasn't long after that he was transferred to Buckley Air Force Base and so we moved to Denver."

"Why didn't you leave? Why didn't you go to your brother's?" Jack asked.

Sam shook her head. "It's hard to explain what went through my head. But mostly it was the sense of failure. Jonas was my one failure. A bird with a broken wing that couldn't fly on his own. He really was sick. He needed help. Maybe it was my pride and growing up in my dad's house, or maybe it was the fact that I didn't have my Mom to give me advice. Whatever it was, I felt ashamed, always ashamed that I had let my life get to that point. That I had gotten pregnant in the first place, that I was allowing a man, a nobody, to control my life. Janet says people stay in those types of situations because they feel bound. But I don't know. Sometimes I feel like I just gave up."

"What happened after that?" Jack asked, his eyes huge.

"At one point Jonas snapped. I don't know what broke him but something did. He had always been very controlling but then all of a sudden one day he decided he was god and everyone should bow to his will. We argued constantly. He wanted the girls to be his little princesses and it was just so screwed up. He would barely let me leave the house." She paused and looked him straight in the eye. "He lost it…lost control. Maybe it was all the black ops before he got assigned to NORAD. Maybe it was too much sun, who knows?"

"You're saying the twins set him over the edge?" Jack asked, concern dripping from his voice.

"It wasn't any one thing. If it was I could've seen it coming and done something about it before…"

"Before what?" Jack interrupted her.

Sam pursed her lips and looked straight at Jack. "He locked me in the house once, after I had gotten a bit verbal with him, refused to be his 'goddess.' We didn't have a landline and he took my cell phone. He locked all the doors and took my keys. I could've gotten out through a window if I wanted to, but I was so tired that I didn't see the point. He had stocked the fridge and left diapers…He was gone for 2 full days before he came back." She watched as Jack placed his hand over his mouth and made himself remain calm at what he was hearing.

"He apologized. But it was too late. He wasn't the same after that," she looked down and took Jack's hand in hers, "the night of his accident I had asked him for a divorce. I made him so angry…"

Jack looked back into Sam's eyes, sincerity in his words, "I'm so sorry you went through all that. But, it's not your fault he died, Sam."

She bit her lip. "It is. He didn't die that day." She watched the stunned expression on Jack's face and wondered if this was really a good idea after all. But the things she was beginning to feel for this man trumped anything she had felt for Jonas. Jack was offering her companionship, not a quick roll in the hay, like Jonas had. He was investing time and effort into knowing her, learning her, wooing her. And she wanted him, wanted to know more of him, wanted his mind as much as his body.

Taking another shuttering breath, she revealed it all, "He was in a coma for 4 months. Tubes and wires everywhere. Machine breathing for him," she looked down, "I visited him every day for a few weeks, and then I came when I could. After 4 months the doctors told me he could eventually come out of it but that there was no knowing how long it would take. There was also no guarantee he wouldn't be brain damaged _if _he awoke. It was my choice." Sam said, "And I pulled the plug. I told them to end it. It was my fault." And even though his death had been a relief, she felt the tears fall down her face. _No one should have that kind of control over someone else's life, _she thought to herself.

They were both silent for a few minutes, the tears rolling down Sam's face and landing on her jeans-clad thighs. "He controlled my life for almost two years, but in the end I was the one who had control over his fate." She looked up into his eyes, "I didn't even hesitate. I just told them to shut it off."

At that, Jack wrapped his arms around Sam's shoulders, pulling her to him. She went willingly, clutching his sweater and burying her face in the crook of his neck. He stroked her back and the hair at the nape of her neck. She tried to take deep breaths to control her emotions, and at each inhale, his scent filled her and she became drunk with his powerful presence.

"I wanted you to know these things. I want you to know that." She paused, and wiped her nose on her sleeve. Clearing her throat, she pulled back and looked him in the eyes. "If you still want this relationship; if you still want _me,_" She corrected, "I come with all that baggage."

He slowly lifted his hand and grasped her jaw, cupping it and stroking her cheek with his thumb. They were looking into each other's eyes, having a silent conversation, learning each other, adoring each other. _Yes, I want you. Yes, I want this._ His eyes drifted from her eyes to her lips, and his thumb did the same, caressing her lips, back and forth, until she parted her mouth, in the slightest, most minute way. When her eyes slid shut he knew the invitation was clear, and leaned in, capturing her lips with his. He kissed her slowly, tenderly, drawing back, then coming at her at a different angle, bumping her nose and teasing her lips. Then, finally, he parted his own lips, and their open mouths met with longing. Her hands came up to both his cheeks, holding him to her, and she herself deepened the kiss. Jack's mind went completely blank at the sensation of her tongue, and he joyfully embraced her fully, plastering her to him and kissing her like she deserved to be kissed, leaving no doubt in her mind whether he still wanted the relationship.

** Author's note:**

**Parts of this conversation were adapted from Season 1, Episode 5, "The First Commandment." In the episode, Jack describes Jonas as a "brain dead sycophant." I have created him as such.**

**A lot just happened. Would love to hear your thoughts, please review.**

**A big thanks to SAMnJACK ALWAYS, my beta. And a huge thanks to those who have left kind words. Your encouragement goes a long way, thanks.**


	23. All in, Carter

Their foreheads touching, they panted for breath, her clutching his sweater, him with a death grip on her hair. They were still on the floor by the couch, but a bit more disheveled, and a lot more tangled. And when exactly had she ended up in his lap? Sam pulled back first, and feeling brave enough opened her eyes. He had a huge grin plastered on his face, and how did his bottom lip get so purple? _Oh, right._

"Wow," she said.

"Yeah," he agreed, running his hand down her hair, "Might be time for me to get off this floor though, I'm not as young as you are," he said, and she shifted to get off of him.

"Sorry!" She said, getting up and turning around to straighten herself up, giving him a moment to do the same. "I'm just gonna run to the restroom, I'll be right back." She told him.

He made them both a cup of coffee, then got comfortable on the couch. He knew he had to stop kissing her tonight. With everything she had just revealed, he didn't need to comfort her physically. The kissing had eased his anger somewhat, and caused his heart to constrict with love for the woman in his arms. He wanted to comfort her, care for her, protect her. The brain-dead sycophant Sam had for a husband was indeed the worst kind of creep, locking her up and making her care for two infants singlehandedly, twenty-four hours a day. He briefly thought that it was a good thing the man was already dead. _Otherwise I might've had to kill him. _

He realized also Sam's depth of love for her children. Even though they were unplanned and conceived out of wedlock, he knew without a shadow of a doubt that she was over-the-moon in love with them. She had sacrificed her career, her well-being, and her own sanity for them, and he suddenly loved her even more for it. He also knew that it was time he was open and honest with her as well. That he needed to be, no, _wanted _to be the complete opposite of Jonas. Samantha deserved every kindness and compassion that he was capable of.

The object of his thoughts walked back in, and he could tell she had washed her face; she was so beautiful. She sat down next to him and took the cup of coffee he offered. "Wow, thanks."

"Sam."

"Yeah?" She answered, pulling her feet up and tucking them under herself.

"Is there anything you want to know about me that you haven't asked yet?" He saw her face rise slowly and her eyes met his.

She blinked. "Um-"

"I mean the hard stuff. Like you just told me." He clarified.

"Oh." She inhaled deeply and looked around. "Yeah, actually..." Then she paused and scrunched up her face, "Are you sure?"

"Yes," Jack said nodding, his expression soft and honest.

"Okay. Hum, I wondered about, well… before they passed away, you said you were divorced." He nodded. "Uh, can you tell me – "

"Why we got divorced?" He interrupted.

"I'm sorry, you don't have to answer." She said, putting her cup down.

"No, I do. I think it's a good question. It's important for you to know. I would've asked the same thing." He assured her.

She nodded and he began, "Well, let's see." He put his cup down too.

"When we got married, I was still in my residency. It was really busy, with rounds at the hospital and at varying clinics around town. My first real job was at a clinic like the one I am at now, just not as nice. I worked all the time. I had an idea in my head of the kind of doctor I wanted to be, the kind of life I wanted to have. So I did everything possible in order to achieve it."

Sam's eyes brightened and she got comfortable in her seat, readying herself for his story.

"I worked all the time, all day. I took every patient I could get, worked weekends at the hospital to gain experience, attended lectures, at-home visits, the whole nine yards." He glanced at Sam and saw that she was paying attention to his every word. "Sara worked as a teacher, and we were so young, both so ambitious… she supported me in everything. We ate rice and beans during the very beginning, then we got promoted to ground beef or peanut butter!" He joked, and Sam smiled faintly, brushing her hand across his forehead.

"I got tired of the pay at the clinic and opened my own practice. We got lucky and found this older doctor who wanted to retire. He had a great office on a busy street; it needed some work, but it wasn't a problem for me. This guy was in his seventies when he retired, and he hadn't really, um, 'kept up with the times,' if you know what I mean."

Sam nodded that she did.

"So it's not like he had a booming practice, but there were still hundreds of patients. I also worked at the hospital after hours and on weekends and the folks I saw there flocked to my practice." Jack took a break and reached for his cup of coffee, sipping it. "Pediatrics is great, because babies are always being born. So anyway, I inherited his patients, updated the place. By that point we had Charlie. Starting up was so much work, but it really beat working at that first clinic. It was like the one I'm at now, where the more experienced, senior-most doctor gets paid a higher cut and I hated it. Even at the clinic I'm at now, I only get paid a percentage of the total profit. So I don't necessarily get paid the total for each of my own patients." He explained to her.

Sam shook her head. "That seems unfair."

He shrugged, "It is a bit, but at the same time I get some of the other doctor's cuts too. Since Dr. Ketter is the doc who's been at the clinic the longest, and she's the most experienced _and _with the most patients, she gets a higher cut."

"I didn't know that," Sam said, sipping her coffee too.

"Yeah. At my own practice I got it all. Except for the expense of renting the office space, the office staff and nurse, it all went to me. The money poured in. I went from hundreds of patients to thousands. You know I'm attentive, and, um, word got around town. I had even more patients after that… had to hire a nurse practitioner to help. I paid all my student loans. Bought Sara a house, a car, everything."

Jack pursed his lips and looked down. "But that's not what she wanted," he heard Sam say.

Without looking up, he answered her, "no." He took a deep breath.

Sam sat there, waiting for him. Jack sipped his coffee, and Sam wondered if he was remembering or trying to find the words to express himself.

Finally, he spoke, "I was never home. Ever. I missed a lot of Charlie growing up. I was a great pediatrician who loved everyone's kids but never saw my own," Jack said, with his eyes closed and his jaw firm.

"Jack," Sam said calmly, bringing his eyes open and his attention back to her, "it's okay."

"The marriage failing was my fault. I don't deny that. But I loved my son."

"I know," Sam said, cupping his cheek with her hand and stroking it gently with her thumb.

"When he was three Sara asked for a divorce. I was so clueless, I had no idea she was that discontent. I mean, I knew we weren't doing _great,_ that I was gone a lot, that I missed a lot. But I was providing for them. I told myself that everything I was doing was for them, for_ him_." He took a deep breath and Sam moved her hand back to her lap, giving him space. "I offered to go to counseling, to cut my hours. But she had already decided. She moved out that night. I had been so busy I never noticed she had been packing for days."

"Oh, Jack," Sam said on an exhale.

"It was hard, but I survived. I still loved her, and of course I missed Charlie. I, um, I kind of got through it by ignoring it, by keeping myself so busy that I didn't even have time to be depressed, to miss him, to be angry. I invested myself even more in my work, more patients, more money, more everything. A year later she and Charlie moved further away from me, and I saw him only on weekends. It wasn't the life I had wanted at all. On the weekends when I got him I'd be all his, spend time doing things he enjoyed. He loved animals so we went to the zoo, the museum, I got him Thor as a pet. When he died, I was teaching him to play softball. He was a really good pitcher..."

Jack turned his face towards Sam and saw she had her right hand covering her mouth, and tears running down her face, her eyes red. Seeing her this way did things to him, and he looked away as his eyes watered too. "I'm glad Sara died with him," he choked out, "I don't think a mother should have to go through that. I think God had mercy on them both. I know that he's with her. She loved him, and I'm glad they were together, that they _are_ together." Tears were streaking down his face and Sam let a sob accidentally escape. Jack jerked his head and looked at her and said, "I don't mean to be so morbid, Sam. I'm sorry."

"No! Jack, I want to hear. I want you to tell me." She said, wiping her face, then wiping his. "How in the world did you get through his death?"

He cleared his throat and shifted on the couch. "Not very well," he said, "not very well at all. I, um, sold the practice. This older doctor moved to town, Harry Maybourne was his name. He was loaded already. He wanted to move his family here for the skiing, of all things. Anyway, my practice was perfect for him, full of existing patients and fat on profits. He paid me an obscene amount of money. I sold my house and went to live at the cabin."

Sam had laid her head to the side on the couch cushion, and was watching him intently; he turned slightly and mirrored her actions, putting his head down on the back of the couch and staring straight into her eyes, "I drank myself silly out there. Lost about 20 pounds, smoked a pack of cigarettes a day, laid out on the dock for hours on end looking up at the sky. I came pretty close to ending what was left of my pathetic life."

"Oh, Jack," Sam said, because she had no other words for him.

"It got pretty bad," he confessed.

Sam squinted her eyes and licked her lips, "How did you – I mean, when I met you, you were ok."

"Teal'c," Jack said, and Sam's eyebrows shot up, her head coming off the couch.

"Teal'c?"

"He came up to see me. He knew me well, knew me through the divorce…he stood next to me at Charlie's funeral." He ran a hand through his face. "He found me passed out on the dock, a bottle of scotch floating in the pond. He stayed a week. And that's saying a lot – the guy _hates_ mosquitos _and _fishing."

"What happened? I mean, how did he help?" Sam asked.

"Well," Jack thought back, "he was just there. T's not a man of many words, but he was there. He got rid of all my booze and then he packed my bags. He didn't really say where I was going, he just put me in his car and drove me back here. I stayed in his apartment a while, and he basically nursed me back to health, for lack of a better description. The gym's the first place I started going back to regularly, then I got the job at the hospital as on-call only, and only for weekends. I eased back into it all, slowly. I found my house and bought it, and it was Dr. Ketter who invited me to join the clinic. She liked my work at the hospital, and she didn't ask why I had spent six months holed up in a cabin in nowhere, Minnesota. I think seeing patients again is what did it. The patients brought me back. They brought me back to living again."

Sam had tears in her eyes again, "and then you met me."

He grinned, "yeah, about that."

"Uh, oh." Sam giggled.

"I couldn't stop thinking about you since the day you walked in, your notebook of questions in your hand, and Emma and Sophie wrapped around your little finger."

"Oh, please, Mister Gorgeous-doctor. You had me wrapped around_ your _little finger the minute you opened the door." She smiled.

"Well, you did kinda give me a nice view that one time."

"What?" Sam laughed, clueless.

"Remember? I opened the door and the first thing I see is your good-looking backside in the air." They both laughed and it was good to change the mood a bit, the depth of the conversation had made for a heavy emotional moment, but it was time to move past pain and into light.

"You know you've changed, right?" Sam asked, running her fingers through the hairs behind his ears.

"What do you mean?"

"You're always here for me. You're always available to talk on the phone. You're the one always making our date plans." She watched him swallow but didn't say anything.

Sam spoke again, close to his lips, "You're a wonderful man, Jack." She kissed him lightly, then buried her face in his neck and hugged him. He hugged her back and she could tell he had understood her meaning, that he knew she did not fear his faults during the divorce, nor his failures as a father.

When they pulled apart, he kissed her on the cheek, "thank you."

She smiled and heard him say, "Is there anything else? That you want to know?"

"Hum," Sam thought for a moment. "Yes. Well, not that I want to know but it's something I want _you_ to know. It's stupid, but you know how I am."

"Sam, I have no clue what you're talking about."

"Okay. Um, I may be younger than you and everything but, I just, uh… hum," she was frowning and moving her lips but not making sounds.

"Just spit it out," Jack encouraged her.

She blew out her breath, "I've had twins."

He quirked his eyebrows. "Yes, I'm aware."

"No, hum…" She shook her head, "my body looks like I've had twins."

"I beg to differ," he responded immediately, completely understanding what she was talking about.

"That's because I'm fully clothed," she shot back, looking down.

"Sam, look at me." He waited until he was sure she was looking straight at him, "I think you're beautiful. Besides being beautiful, you are extremely hot. It would be indelicate for me to describe how much I really appreciate your features. I was married for 7 years and although I would never compare you to Sara, she had a baby too. Her body changed but that had nothing to do with how I responded to her, hum, physically. If and when our relationship crosses that line, I hope to show you how much I don't care about stretch marks and scars."

"You forgot sagging and – "

"I won't care. _Believe me_," he emphasized by spreading both his hands in front of him. "Now, is there anything else besides the fact that you're crazy?" he joked and she smiled. _Good._

She looked down, still sporting a smile and thought for a minute. Her head shot back up. "Yeah, one more thing. I don't want you to get the wrong impression about the girls. I mean, with everything I just told you, the pregnancy and Jonas, they are still the best thing that's ever happened to me. If I had to go through it all again just to get them, I would."

He nodded, "I know you love them, and I know you would." She smiled and he added, "Ok. I have something else."

"Ok."

"I'm in this," Jack said.

"What?"

"I mean this," he made a gesture between him and her, "this. Us. I'm in. I mean, I'm glad you told me about your past, I needed to know that, I needed to hear it from you, and I'll probably need to hear more if you're willing to talk to me about it. But even before tonight, I was committed, _am_ committed to this."

She stared at him and her eyes watered again, but he kept talking. "I mean, I'm not proposing or anything, I don't want to scare you off. Gee, I'm really messing this up." She chuckled at him, wiping at her cheeks. "What I mean is that none of what you told me makes a difference. It only makes me care for you more. I mean, what I mean is, I'm not running away from this. I want this."

"I want this too. I want you," she said hoarsely.

He looked nervous and nodded at her. Sam cleared her throat and said, "you're not messing anything up. We're not teenagers. I'm not in this for a fling or a live-in boyfriend. There are children involved. We both know what the full-future expectation is if this works out."

He let out a huge breath. "Oh, thank God."

She smiled at him. "What?"

"I'm so glad to hear you say that. I mean, I know I was divorced and everything, but I'm from the old school. When I married Sara, I thought it'd be for life. If this works out I'm going to want you to be mine forever. Exclusively. No sharing. No outs."

"Sounds permanent," Sam said with a twinkle in her eye.

"I'm like that," he said with a cocky grin.

"Well, let's not jump the gun. We've only known each other three months," Sam said, trying to ground herself.

"I know." He let out a breath. "I know, Dr. Hanson." He cupped her cheek with his hands, but Sam could see his sudden wince.

"Do you, Dr. O'Neill?"

"Uhum," he thought for a moment, looking into her eyes, "so your maiden name was Carter?" Jack asked, changing the subject.

"Yeah," she answered. _I knew it_, she thought to herself. He had immediately regretted calling her by her last name.

"Huh. Carter." He tested it again. "I like it. Fits you. More than Hanson anyway. Rolls off the tongue quite nicely."

She giggled at him, "I always liked it myself."

He grinned, then came even closer. "Carter?" He said in between brushes of his lips over hers.

"Hum?"

"I like you," he whispered.

"I like you too."

**A/N: Beta-ed by SAMnJACK ALWAYS.**


	24. Heat

**Author's Note: This chapter is for grown-ups. If it offends you, close your eyes**.

It happened the Friday after Thanksgiving; the American one, not the Canadian one. On Thursday, Sam and Jack had attended the holiday meal at Daniel's house together. He had purchase an enormous turkey fryer this year, and all the men had huddled around in it in the afternoon, drinking beer and frying the bird. Teal'c had joined them again, and together with Janet and Cassie, the group made a nice unit. Sam had kissed Jack goodbye a little after six, bound for her house to bathe and put the kids down, but Jack had stayed at Daniel's, high on football, pie, and true male bonding. After she had left, Jack absently mentioned that next year Sam and he should host Thanksgiving, that way Sam could still be around even after the kids had gone to bed. He completely missed the knowing looks the other guests gave each other, or the elbow to ribs Janet gave Daniel when he started speaking. Daniel was on his third beer, and anything could come out of his mouth at that point.

It was now Friday, and Jack was sprawled on his couch watching the Simpsons Thanksgiving marathon when his doorbell rang. With a grunt, he got up and made his way to the door, padding his sock-clad feet on the hardwood. He opened the door, and there, at his front porch, stood Sam wearing a navy blue skirt and a jean jacket and 'trouble' written all over her.

"Surprise!" she said, lifting a white bag and showing all her teeth in a beautiful smile.

"Carter!"

"Hi! Want some Chinese?" she said tilting her head and waving the bag around.

"Yeah! What are you doing here? I thought you were going to spend the evening grading papers!"

"Changed my mind. Can I come in?" She ducked her head and moved the bag to her other hand.

"Of course! He said opening the door wide, "Girls with a sitter?"

"Yep," she said walking past him, but he grabbed her arm and she looked up at him. He leaned in and captured her lips in a very welcoming kiss. "I'm glad you're here."

She smiled, turning and walking towards the kitchen, "I'm glad I'm here too. Yesterday was fun, but it was a bit of a crowd. I feel like I barely got to talk to you." She turned to face him. "You hadn't already made dinner plans, had you?"

"Pizza should be here in 10," he said, hands in his pockets and his mouth quirked up.

Sam grinned, "You're kidding!"

"Think I can still call and cancel it?" Jack said grabbing the bag out of her hand and starting to pull out the cartons.

"Nah. Leave it. I like options at dinnertime," Sam said.

"That's my girl."

Sam stopped dead and dropped her smile in mock annoyance, "your girl?"

"Uhum." Jack nodded his head. "My girl," he repeated.

"I think I'm too old to be anyone's 'girl.'" Sam crossed her arms.

"Well, I think I prefer calling you 'my girl' than 'girlfriend' or 'lady-friend' or –"

"Ok, ok!" Sam said putting her hands up.

They sat and started on the Chinese. "So if you're not my 'boyfriend,' then what are you?" Sam asked, slurping a piece of broccoli from her chopstick.

"_I _am definitely too old to be a 'boyfriend.'" He said, putting the chopsticks down and getting up to retrieve a fork. It took too long for him to eat with those things.

"That doesn't exactly answer my question," Sam said, raising her eyebrows at him.

Jack finished chewing and licked his lips, "I'm the guy you're dating!"

"That's a _boyfriend, _Jack," Sam said, tilting her head, "it doesn't _have_ to be a juvenile term."

"Sounds like it when you're 40." He picked up the carton of Mongolian beef and started eating right out of the box. "What do you call me? In your head?"

"In my head?" Sam was looking at him like he was weird.

"Yeah, you know, when you're thinking about me," he looked at her and waited.

"Jack." It was her answer.

"Huh?"

"Jack. That's what I call you in my head: Jack," Sam repeated.

"No, that's not what I mean. When you think about introducing me to someone, and you play it out in your head, what do you introduce me as?"

Startled by her immediate answer, the one she had in her head, Sam put her chopsticks down and stared at him for a long time. He seemed oblivious to the effect the question had on her until he looked up and caught her intense gaze. She broke the eye contact and cleared her throat, "You're my _boyfriend_, Jack. Deal with it."

He laughed and she threw her napkin at him from across the table, smiling and snapping out of the tense moment. The doorbell rang, and Jack got up to answer the pizza delivery. He came back, put the pizza in the oven, and sat on the seat next to Sam, pulling his plate closer to her and ignoring her grin as he started eating again. As they talked, Jack had his left hand on the tabletop, palm up, and Sam was tracing his skin with her fingers, tickling his palm, drawing patters, and generally driving him crazy. The conversation came to a comfortable pause and he asked,

"What time do you have Cassie 'till?"

She paused her tracing for a moment. "Actually, I have Janet. Cassie's sleeping over at friend's house tonight."

"That's nice of her," Jack said, watching her hand.

"Uhum," Sam voiced.

"So what time do you have Janet 'till?"

Sam licked her lips, "Till about ten," and swallowed, "in the morning." She was still drawing patters on his hand and looking down at her empty plate.

As soon as the words left her mouth, Jack's fingers closed around Sam's wandering fingers and stopped her movements. She looked up and met his eyes. They were dark and fierce and Sam knew immediately that he had understood her meaning. She made use of her time, looking at his whole face, taking in his satisfaction, his arousal, his surprise.

"Are you sure?" He asked, a huskiness within his voice.

She leaned in towards him, and as her mouth drew closer to his face she nodded, "very sure."

It was all the confirmation Jack needed. His mouth crashed on hers, his hands coming up to grasp her face and pulling her whole body towards his. She responded eagerly, kissing him back, her own hands helping to move her from her chair to his. They were still in the familiar, the kissing and light touching that had become their only allowed passion over the months they had dated. But as Sam settled on his lap and sat all the way down on him, their hips meeting for the first time, there was a grunt from him and a sigh from her, and the moment Sam felt his hands on her actual skin, she was sure she had died and gone to heaven.

By some miracle they made it to his bedroom, both panting and red-faced. Jack separated himself from her and turned towards the bed, starting to pull the covers and top sheet away from the mattress. Sam toed her shoes off and waited for him. "I've never been in your room before." She was looking around, noticing that it fit the man to a T.

When he turned back towards her, she gasped. When had he taken his shirt off? And oh, my god, did Teal'c need a tip for his fine instruction. Jack was toned and muscled and Sam's mouth watered. He approached her and she let out a breath. "I'm nervous," she revealed on a half chuckle.

"Yeah," Jack said, unbuttoning her shirt, "I am too."

But as he undid her, she undid him too, and they both found that the awkward early moments of their relationship, the calls, the confessions, the conversations, all of the revelations, had led to two people who had become very comfortable with one another. Jack knew Sam intimately, yet not sexually, and she could say the same of him.

As Jack laid her back on his bed, Sam felt sure, secure, and safe. And when they met for the first time, in the most intimate way possible, there was a comfortable feeling of completion, of connection, of love. The pleasure and satisfaction that overwhelmed them both were a result of the months spent learning each other, hearing each other, giving of each other. The sex that they shared as lovers was faultless because of the bond they shared as friends.

After, Sam lay on Jack's mattress staring up at the ceiling, still working on evening out her breathing. Jack was next to her, propped up on his elbows, drawing circles on her skin.

"You know this changes things," he said to her.

Nodding but still looking up at the ceiling, she said, "I know." Of course she knew. That's why it had taken her months. That's why when she finally came to the conclusion that it was time, she had frantically called Janet, needing it to be right then, right now.

"I'm ok with things changing," Sam said, turning her body towards him.

"I mean, I can't predict the future or anything," Jack said, "but I'm pretty sure I'm going to want to do this again."

She smiled at him. "Me too. I know it'll be more complicated, with the girls and everything. They're so young. I don't want them to see you in my bed. I think they'd get confused."

"I agree," Jack said immediately. "We'll figure it out. Don't worry."

"I won't," Sam said, snuggling closer to him.

"There's just one more thing," Jack said, near her face.

"What's that?"

He looked into her eyes, "I'm definitely in love with you."

Sam looked at him, her skin still flushed, and one of the corners of her swollen mouth quirked up into a grin.

"I know that's horribly cliché. I mean, we just made love and here I am telling you that for the first time, but I just really feel that –"

"I love you too." Sam cut him off. "Really."

Jack made a noncommittal sound, "I hate clichés"

Sam propped herself up on an elbow, mirroring his form, "I know you didn't just say it 'cause we made love. I could tell… before. It's one of the reasons I thought it was time. I knew you were in love with me. I knew I was in love with you."

"I've never heard you sound so confident," Jack said, running his fingers up and down her cheek.

She looked down, "Huh. Maybe you bring it out of me."

"Maybe I do."

Sam looked over him towards his bedside table, searching out his clock.

"What?" Jack asked.

She arched her eyebrows when she saw the time. "Wow, times flies when you're, um… you know."

He laughed. "You have somewhere you need to be?"

"No!" Sam said, "it's just, um," she licked her lips, "I get really hungry, you know, _after_."

Jack's face broke out into a huge smile. He loved her appetite. "I happen to have a large peperoni pizza in the oven."

Sam smiled back, "I know. How do you feel about crumbs?"

"In the bed?"

She nodded and he shrugged, "we can always change the sheets afterwards."

"Deal."

**A/N: Thank you again for the feedback. It is so appreciated. And thank you to my beta, SAMnJACK ALWAYS.**


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